


Alone No Longer

by LizzeXX



Series: The Lunar Cycle [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Donna Noble is Super Temp, Donna-Evy friendship, Drama, Embedded Images, Friendship, Gallifrey, Links, Mental Institutions, Mind Link, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Rose Returns, Series 4 rewrite, Soulmates, Telekinesis, The Doctor and Evy are Links, The Doctor is pining, The Doctor/Evy, The Last Great Time War, The Lunar Cycle, The bees are disappearing, Theta/Luna - Freeform, Thuna - Freeform, Time Travel, Travel, doctor who - Freeform, linking, perception filter, space travel, time lady - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-07 11:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 82,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15907656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzeXX/pseuds/LizzeXX
Summary: Evy lost her brother on the Valiant but regenerated, revealing who and what she is to the Doctor, his Link. How will he handle having a Time Lady travelling with him, especially one with a startling connection to him? How will Donna react to two of them? What will happen when Rose returns?10/OCTime Lady





	1. Time Crash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Welcome to the second story in my OC series for my OC/Time Lady Evelyn Daniels, or Evy as she prefers to be called :) This is going to be a revision of Series 4, updated daily, in mostly 2-part chapters, however 2-parter episodes will be 1 chapter for each episode. For those of you just joining, it would probably be better to read the first story in this series, The Hidden Lady of Time, before this story as it might be confusing without having done so.
> 
> Evy is on her 10th incarnation, a tall pale woman with black hair, light blue eyes (similar to Caterina Scorsone). Her chosen outfit hasn't been picked yet, but will be described in Partners in Crime :)
> 
> ~8~ is a scene break  
> 'italics' is telepathic communication
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or I'd have given us a preview of the ENTIRE Series 7 and not just the first half...
> 
> Enjoy!

Evy smiled softly to herself as the Doctor pulled away from listening to her hearts. He reached out and took her Perception Filter in his hands, just fiddling the small hourglass between his fingers.

"Why did you wear this?" he asked her quietly.

She sighed, "I really wouldn't be able to tell you…" she held up a hand as he went to protest, "You honestly wouldn't believe me. Trust me. I know you."

"Whatever it is, I know you too, you'd find a way to prove it."

She looked down for a moment before nodding to herself, "I can prove it but on one condition," he stared at her expectantly, "You need to turn around and promise me,  _promise me_ , you won't look at me till I tell you to, alright?"

He frowned in confusion, it was a bit of an odd request, but if it would get her to tell him why she felt the need to hide the fact that she was a Time Lady from him…he turned around to face the back of the TARDIS.

She sighed and reached up to unclip the Perception Filter. She dropped all her mental walls, allowing the full Time Lady consciousness to stream forward, but there was one specific moment she needed him to see.

She heard him gasp. Her eyes widened as he started to turn around so she quickly snapped the Filter back on, blocking everything just before he faced her once more.

"I thought I asked you not to do anything till I said so?" she asked, just a bit harshly. The Filter was still active, even if he wasn't looking right at her, being so close, right behind her, as long as she wore it his mind would react to its presence. She'd taken it off so nothing would block his senses or his mind, but she hadn't wanted to risk him Linking to her just yet, hence the turning away from her. If he looked at her, into her eyes, without the Filter in place, he would have just then had she not been as quick as she was.

"You're my  _Link_?" he breathed, realizing what she had been trying to tell him. He'd seen it in his head, from her mind, the exact moment she had Linked to him. He'd heard her voice in his head for just a moment, filling the silence that had settled there when his people were destroyed, making the current silence almost unbearable. He could almost feel her emotions, everything she felt for him, her thoughts were that powerful, he could almost feel the Link through her, "But…why…" he looked at the Filter as though the only thing he wanted to do was rip it off her and destroy it. He'd been alone for  _so_  long, thought that his Link was  _dead_  for so long and with her any chance of someone possibly loving him the way only a Link could, and now, to have her so close to him, but so far away…

"You're not ready," she smiled sadly, "To let go."

"…I'm not following," he shook his head.

She looked straight at him, "Tell me, now, while you're Link free, would you be willing to give up Rose if the Link should turn romantic?" he couldn't answer, "That's why," she stepped forward and put a hand on his cheek when he looked at the floor ashamed, "There's nothing wrong with it Doctor," she reassured him, "I've waited centuries just to find you again…I can wait until you're ready."

"But…Rose is never coming back," he argued, looking up at her, "Why can't we just…"

"I've been in your head Theta," she laughed a little to herself, "Since just before you left Gallifrey, I  _know_  you. I know how you think. I know how you feel. I know how you felt about Rose. I…I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for," she left it at that, not wanting him to hear all the reasons. She was emotional enough as it was, he didn't need her to start crying about how she was terrified he wouldn't feel the same or any of the other reasons.

"I'd get over it," he argued, "Once the Link is formed it won't matter and…"

"But it  _will_ ," she insisted, though she couldn't help but feel a shiver at his words, he seemed to think that the Link would lead to romantic feelings towards her. She would  _love_  for that to happen, but she also didn't want him to try and force the Link to go that way just because he was lonely, she had to wait till he'd calmed down and sorted himself before she could let him Link to her, "Deep down, you would be mourning the loss of your connection with Rose. And…I don't want to be responsible for putting you through that. So…for now…please, just let me do what I think is best."

He stared at her, seeing her concern for him, the depth of her love for him. It hurt him more than he wanted to admit that he was scared of the Link, scared to Link to her. She was right, he wasn't ready to get over Rose…yet. And, when he thought about it…she would know the ins and outs of the Link far better than him.

But still…there was a part of him that regretted not looking up that day on Gallifrey when he'd heard someone trip up the stairs after he'd barged into the President's house. He would have seen her…he could have Linked to her then, avoided all the pain he was in currently…though he knew his experience, his pain even, were what made him who he was.

He took a breath before nodding his acceptance to her, "Fine…for now," he added, before smiling and twisting the Filter around in his hand, "But…can we do something about this?"

She looked down at the Filter, confused.

"I just mean, lower its power a bit. I just…it's meant to make me think you're human right? Can we at least let my mind sense you as a Time Lady? Please, I need to hear you in my mind. It's been so quiet for so long…"

"That's actually my fault," she grinned sheepishly, "The Filter took a lot of damage during the regeneration…it's really only powerful enough to keep your mind from sensing me as your Link and letting you Link to me…"

"You're blocking your thoughts from me," he stated, following along, "Why?"

"I…wasn't sure how you would react. To me being a Time Lady and hiding it from you," slowly though she let her mental walls down, allowing him to see all her thoughts, at least those that lingered on the surface of her mind.

' _I'm sorry…_ '

He smiled softly, hugging her as he heard her voice in his head, the first voice he'd heard since the Time War as the Master's had been hidden by the Archangel Network.

But suddenly he pulled away, realizing something, "Why don't you go put on a pot of tea?" he asked quickly, ushering her towards the kitchen, "I'll join you in a bit, have something to take care of here…"

She raised an eyebrow at him but was in no position to argue, she still wasn't too sure if he'd fully forgiven her or even if he wasn't angry anymore, she still couldn't hear him in her mind, now  _he_  was the only one blocking his thoughts.

She tensed as she entered the kitchen, trying to ignore the quiet in her mind. It was odd, even on Gallifrey when others shielded their minds, she could always hear the Doctor's in the forefront of her mind, even across time and space. To not hear him at all…it was disconcerting…

She sighed, setting a small pot of tea on and sitting on a counter to wait till it boiled.

She didn't have to wait long when the TARDIS suddenly gave a severe jolt and sent her flying onto the floor. She pushed herself up, shutting off the tea and racing back to the control room to check on the Doctor, only to skid to a stop and hide behind the doorway at the top of the gantry, spotting something by the console.

She glanced around the frame to see the Doctor seeming to be talking with a man in a white jacket with a stick of celery pinned to his lapel. Her eyes widened as she laughed to herself, she recalled this meeting from the fifth incarnation of the Doctor. Oh, this would be  _brilliant_  to watch.

"…Universe goes bang in five minutes but...brilliant!" her Doctor exclaimed.

"I'm the Doctor, who are you?" the fifth Doctor asked.

"Yes, you are!" he grinned, "You are the Doctor."

"Yes, I am. I'm the Doctor."

"Oh, good for you, Doctor," the Doctor was now grinning madly, Evy could only roll her eyes at him, "Good for brilliant old you."

"Is there something wrong with you?" the fifth Doctor asked the question Evy had asked herself many,  _many_  times.

"Oh there it goes! The frowny face, I remember that one!" he reached out and grabbed his fifth self's face, smushing his cheeks. Evy slapped herself in the forehead and shook her head at him, "Mind you, bit saggier than it ought to be, hair's a bit grayer. That's because of me, though, the two of us together has shorted out the time differential, should all snap back in place when we get you back home. Be able to close that coat again. But never mind that! Look at you! The hat, the coat, the crickety cricket stuff the...stick of celery, yeah. Brave choice celery, but fair play to you, not a lot of men can carry off a decorative vegetable."

"Shut up!" the fifth Doctor shouted, "There is something wrong with my TARDIS and I've got to do something about it very,  _very_  quickly, and it would help, it really would help, if there wasn't some skinny idiot…" Evy snorted, "Ranting in my face about everything that happens to be in front of him!"

"Oh," the Doctor mellowed, "Okay. Sorry, Doctor."

"Thank you," the fifth Doctor breathed, turning to the TARDIS console.

"Oh!" the Doctor was grinning again, "The back of my head!"

"What?"

"Sorry, sorry, not something you see ever day, is it? The back of your own head. Mind you, I see why you wear a hat. I don't want to seem vain, but...could you keep that on?"

"Oh God," Evy mumbled to herself.

"What have you done to my TARDIS?" the fifth Doctor demanded, looking around, "You've changed the desktop theme...what is this one then, coral?"

"Well..." the Doctor trailed.

"It's worse than the leopard skin," the fifth Doctor exclaimed, pulling out half moon glasses and putting them on.

"Oh!" the Doctor laughed, "There they come! The brainy specs! You don't even need them, you just think they make you look a bit clever."

They do, Evy had to admit, she was always a fan when the Doctor whipped out his brainy specs.

Just then an alarm sounded.

"That's an alert!" the fifth Doctor's eyes widened, "Level five. Indicates a temporal collision. It's like two TARDISes have merged, but there's definitely only one TARDIS present. Looks like two time zones at war in the heart of the TARDIS. That's a paradox. Could blow a hole in the space time continuum the size of..." the Doctor nonchalantly pushed the monitor on the console with the information to face his other self, "...well, actually, the exact size of Belgium. That's a bit un-dramatic, isn't? Belgium?"

"Need this?" the Doctor asked, pulling out the sonic screwdriver.

Evy rolled her eyes, he was far too dependent on that thing.

"No, I'm fine," the fifth Doctor waved him off.

"Oh no, of course, you mostly went hands free didn't you? It's like 'hey, I'm the doctor, I can save the Universe with a kettle and some string, and look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable!'"

Evy shook her head.

"Who are you?" the fifth Doctor looked at him.

"Take a look."

"Oh...oh no," the fifth Doctor's face fell.

"Oh yes."

"You're...oh no, you're…"

"Here it comes, yep, yep I am."

"A fan!"

Evy had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter from being heard.

The fifth Doctor turned away from the Doctor, a look of disgust on his face, before going to the console.

"Yep!" the Doctor shouted, before realizing what the fifth Doctor had said, "What?"

"Level ten now," the fifth Doctor looked at the alarm, "This is bad. Two minutes to Belgium."

"What do you mean 'a fan?' I'm not just a fan, I'm you!"

"Okay, you're my  _biggest_  fan. Look, it's perfectly understandable. I go zooming around space and time saving planets, fighting monsters, and being, well, let's be honest, pretty sort of marvelous..." the Doctor looked smug. Evy could only roll her eyes again, both of them had an ego the size of the Earth, "…and naturally every now and then people notice me...start up their little groups. That LINDA lot...are you one of them? How did you get in here?" he pointed a finger at the Doctor, "Can't have you lot knowing where I live."

"Listen to me, I'm  _you_!" the Doctor yelled, having enough, "I'm you with a new face," he slapped his own cheeks this time, "Check out this bone structure Doctor, because one day, you're going to be shaving it."

The cloister bell began to ring, "The Cloister Bell!" the fifth Doctor looked up, alarmed.

"Yep, right on time, that's my cue," the Doctor rushed over, running around the console.

"In less than a minute we're going to detonate a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire Universe!"

"Yeah…" the Doctor paused, a bit embarrassed, "That's my fault, actually, I was rebuilding the TARDIS, forgot to put the shields back up. Your TARDIS and my TARDIS...well the same TARDIS, different points in its own time steam, collided and, oops, there you go, end of the Universe, butterfingers. But don't worry, I know exactly how this all works out. Venting the thermal buffer, flooring the Helmic regulator, and just to finish off, lets fry those Zeiton crystals."

"You'll blow up the TARDIS!" the fifth Doctor tried to stop him from hitting the rest of the controls.

"It's the only way out."

"Who told you that?"

"You told me that!" he shouted before pulling a lever. Everything went white, the light actually blinding them all for a moment.

"Supernova and black hole at the exact same instant," the fifth Doctor breathed.

"Explosion cancels out implosion," the Doctor agreed as Evy smiled, proud.

"Matter stays constant."

"Brilliant!"

"Far too brilliant," the fifth Doctor turned to look at him suspiciously, "I've never met anyone else who could fly the TARDIS like that."

"Sorry, mate, you still haven't."

"You didn't have time to work all that out, even  _I_  couldn't do it."

"I didn't work it out, I didn't have to."

"You remembered."

"Because you will remember."

"You remembered being me, watching you, doing that," he looked down at the console then back up at the Doctor, "You already knew what to do because I watched you do it."

"Wibbly wobbly…" the Doctor began before the both finished, "Timey wimey!"

Evy face palmed. She  _never_  should have said that on the video to Sally, now the Doctor had just taught himself the phrase. But she couldn't help but laugh when she looked up to see the Doctor try to high-five the fifth Doctor who just stared at him, confused, before another alarm went off.

"What?" the Doctor turned back to the console, "TARDISes are separating, sorry, Doctor, time's up, back to long ago...where are you now? Nyssa and Tegan, Cybermen and Mara and Time Lords in funny hats and the Master? Oh he just showed up again, same as ever."

"Oh no," the fifth Doctor shook his head, "Really? Does he still have that rubbish beard?"

"No...no beard this time...well, a wife…"

"Oh," the fifth Doctor called, starting to fade, "I seem to be off. What can I say? Thank you...Doctor."

"Thank  _you_ ," the Doctor smiled.

"I'm very welcome," the fifth Doctor grinned.

He faded away completely before the Doctor realized something and flipped a switch, bringing him back so he could hand him his hat back.

Evy smiled, this was her favorite part of the conversation.

"You know...I loved being you. Back when I first started, at the very beginning, I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young. And then I was you...and it was all dashing about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky when I shouted...I still do that! The voice thing, I got that from you. Oh!" he put his foot on the console to show him his shoes, "…and the trainers and..." he pulled out his brainy specs and put them on, "...snap. 'Cos you know what, Doctor? You were  _my_  Doctor."

"To days to come," the fifth Doctor tipped his hat.

"All my love to long ago."

The fifth Doctor smiled and Evy took a breath, that was  _her_  cue.

"Doctor!" she called, stepping out onto the gantry, both Doctors looked up at her, "Was that Martha? Did she change her mind?"

The Doctor smiled, realizing what she had done. He remembered this as well, it was how he knew he'd be meeting the fifth Doctor. He remembered standing there as a beautiful woman with black hair stepped onto the gantry calling for a woman named Martha. He knew Evy couldn't be down there during his conversation with himself, the fifth Doctor would have sensed her as a Time Lady and he, in his present incarnation, would have known there was one out there, which he hadn't. She had to wait till he was fading, caught in the separation of the TARDISes where he couldn't sense her, to speak. She was giving the fifth Doctor a clue to the future, to prepare him for this moment as well.

"No," the Doctor called back up, "Just saying goodbye to an old friend," he turned back to the fifth Doctor, "Doctor," he nodded.

The fifth Doctor tipped his hat again, nodding to the girl on the gantry as well, before disappearing.

"Oh, Doctor, remember to put your shields up," his voice called back.

The Doctor smiled before pushing a button on the TARDIS just before there was the sound of a ship's horn blasting. Both he and Evy went flying to the floor as dust blew into the air. Evy coughed, pushing herself up and looking below at the Doctor sprawled out on the floor, pushing himself up again.

"What..." he coughed.

"Doctor," Evy called, picking up at life preserver as she walked down the steps to join him.

"What?" his eyes widened, seeing TITANIC painted on the side of the preserver.

They both looked up to see a ship sticking out into the side of the TARDIS.

"What!" he demanded.

To be continued...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am very excited to write out Series 4 with Evy, I love Donna so much. This is just a little filler till I get Voyage of the Damned up and we officially start Series 4.
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor's Time Lord mood swings act up, Evy's skills come to good use and her brilliance shines through, but there's something wrong with her that she won't tell the Doctor...


	2. Voyage of the Damned (Part 1)

Evy had to admit, she was more than a bit shocked to see a huge ship sticking out and into the TARDIS, especially the  _Titanic_. But it seemed the Doctor was just as surprised as she was, as he was still on the floor. She ran to his side, helping him stand as they both rushed to the console and began powering the TARDIS up for a teleport. They managed to push the ship out and get the TARDIS to reappear within the ship so she could have time to repair herself.

The Doctor headed to the door and stepped out, looking around a moment at what appeared to be a supply closet. He nodded back at Evy and stepped out with her following. She gently shut the doors behind her as the Doctor peeked his head out of the closet for a moment. Evy stood there, eyeing him cautiously, a frown on her face. This was the longest the Doctor had ever blocked his thoughts from her…it was beginning to unnerve her greatly. She thought he wasn't mad at her anymore, but she just couldn't work out another reason for him to be blocking her like he was.

He glanced back at her, nodding towards the hall and stepping out. She came out a moment later to see a wood-paneled room decorated with plants and Christmas decorations. There were people dressed in early 20th century clothing just wandering around while waiters and waitresses served some of the Doctor's beloved nibbles and champagne. There was a band playing a slow version of 'Jingle Bells' in the background. They walked cautiously into the room, trying not to be noticed as the Doctor stopped briefly in front of two golden angels garbed in white. They jolted a bit, mechanically, robots.

He frowned, reaching forward to touch one when Evy's voice drifted over to him, "Doctor…"

He turned to see her standing at a large window, looking out of it. He walked over and stood beside her, his eyes widening as he saw the Earth floating there in space.

"Right…" he murmured, realizing that they were in an intergalactic sort of cruise ship.

As though reading their minds the loudspeaker announced, "Attention all passengers. The  _Titanic_  is now in orbit above Sol 3, also known as Earth. Population: Human. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Christmas."

~8~

They had quickly returned to the TARDIS, seeing that they would be stuck there as the TARDIS finished repairing herself and it would do better to blend in. The Doctor had quickly changed into his typical black tuxedo, much to Evy's chagrin as she was almost certain they would be in a life or death situation now…that suit was probably cursed.

She herself had managed to find a lovely dress in the TARDIS's wardrobe. It was a light blue gown with a v-neckline, sleeveless with a slight poof at the shoulders, it was tight around her waist but flowed out to the ground. There was a small floral pattern under the neckline in dark blue, and she completed the attire with a simple set of elbow length white gloves. She'd curled her hair and pinned it up, simply done. Nothing too fancy…and yet, the Doctor was, once again, rendered frozen amidst putting on his tie when she stepped out of the wardrobe.

"Is this going to be an ongoing occurrence with you?" she asked as she stepped forward to fix his tie.

"I…what?" he managed to get out as Evy stepped back.

She just shook her head and walked out of the TARDIS, holding the doors open for him to follow. They walked back out to the main hall, looking around when a small video screen caught Evy's eye. She walked over to it, the Doctor following along, and played the message waiting there.

Suddenly a bald man with a ridiculously thin moustache appeared, sitting behind a desk, "Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, the fastest, the farthest, the best. And I should know because my name...is Max.," he grinned, his golden tooth glinting, before the screen faded to the cruise line logo.

"You've got to be joking," Evy remarked, her eyes wide as she stared at the video screen. Not only was the man himself ridiculous looking but really? A glinting tooth? The whole message was just too over the top for her.

She looked up to see the Doctor fiddling with his tie and rolled her eyes, brushing his hands away and straightening it herself. She patted it in place before stepping back. The Doctor shot her a grin before taking her hand and pulling her with him towards reception.

"Merry Christmas, sir, ma'am," a steward greeted as they walked by.

"Merry Christmas," they replied as one, laughing as they entered the room from earlier.

"It's not a holiday for me, not while I've still got my vone," a man was saying, quite loudly, as he spoke into some sort of device, "Now do as I say and sell."

The Doctor and Evy watched him walk off before another robotic angel caught the Doctor's eye and he headed off towards it.

"Evening," the Doctor nodded at the robot, "Passengers 57 and 58. Terrible memory. Remind me. Uh, you would be..."

"Information: Heavenly Host supplying tourist information," it replied.

"Good, so, um...tell me, 'cos I'm an idiot…"

"He really is," Evy agreed, patting his arm a bit in mock sympathy.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at her, but grinned nonetheless before turning to the robot, "Where are we from?"

"Information: the  _Titanic_  is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt," it answered as Evy let out a whistle, that was quite a fair distance, "The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."

" _Titanic_ …" the Doctor trailed, "Um...who...thought of the name?"

"Information: it was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."

"I take it no one told you  _why_  it was famous?" Evy frowned, not having a good feeling about this at all. She didn't necessarily believe in jinxes or anything like that…save for the Doctor's suit…but something about building a ship to look like the  _Titanic_ , in memory of the  _Titianic_ , and called the  _Titanic_...it was just begging for a catastrophe.

"Information: all designations are chosen by Mr. Max Capricorn, president of Max…Max…Max..." it began repeating Max, the name becoming more high-pitched as its head jerked.

"Ooh, bit of a glitch," the Doctor commented as he reached into his pocket for the sonic, only to be stopped by Evy putting a gentle hand on his arm, halting him.

"Sir, we can handle this," a steward rushed forward a moment later. He waved for others, each helping to switch off the robot and drag it away, "Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas."

He quickly walked off with the other stewards, leaving the Doctor and Evy alone, both feeling something was most certainly going on here. But their thoughts were unable to linger on the robot very long as the sound of breaking glass reached them. They looked over to see a blonde waitress standing before a tray of drinks she had dropped on the floor, the business man from before standing before her.

"For Tov's sake, look where you're going!" the man shouted, "This jacket's a genuine Earth antique."

Evy snorted, even from there she could tell it was a knock off.

"I'm sorry, sir," the waitress apologized, kneeling down to pick up the broken glass.

"You'll be sorry when it comes off your wages, sweetheart," the man continued, "Staffed by idiots…" the Doctor had to grab Evy's arm to keep her from going over there and smacking the man like he had no doubt she wanted to if the expression on her face was any sort of clue, "No wonder Max Capricorn is going down the drain."

"Careful," Evy said, coming over to help the woman with the glass as the man stormed off, "Let me help."

"Thank you," the woman looked up at Evy, grateful, if a bit shocked, that someone so well dressed was on her knees helping, well, the help, "But…I can manage."

"I know you can," Evy winked at her, continuing to help, "I'm Evy, by the way," she nodded up at the Doctor standing next to her, "That's the Doctor."

"Astrid, ma'am," she replied, "Astrid Peth."

"Nice to meet you Astrid," Evy grinned, reaching out to shake the woman's hand, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Astrid breathed, shocked at the woman's kindness, but she quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts, "You enjoying the cruise?"

Evy shrugged and glanced over at the Doctor, she was sure she _would_  be having a great time if it wasn't for the silence in her head, but she quickly buried that thought deep inside so the Doctor couldn't read it off her.

The Doctor frowned, as Evy's thoughts suddenly shifted to counting the glass on the tray. He looked down at her, concerned, "Um...yeah, I suppose. I don't know. Quite nice, suppose, us on a cruise."

"What about you Astrid?" Evy asked suddenly, standing up with the tray, "You're a long way from Sto."

"Doesn't feel that different," Astrid admitted, "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, travelled all the way here..." she seemed to notice Evy was the one with the tray and reached out to take it from her, "And I'm still waiting on tables."

She sighed and turned to walk away, but Evy and the Doctor followed her, "No shore leave?" the Doctor asked.

"We're not allowed," Astrid replied, clearing a table by a window, "They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading off to the stars and I always dreamt of...it sounds daft…"

"No it doesn't," Evy smiled, reaching out to gently squeeze the woman's arm, "You dreamt of another sky with a new sun in it, breathing new air, seeing new life. The whole Universe just teeming with life. Why should you stand around when there's all that  _life_  out there?"

Astrid had begun smiling at Evy's little speech, as had the Doctor who was now looking at the Time Lady with a fond expression. That was exactly how he'd felt his entire life on Gallifrey.

"So...you travel a lot?" Astrid asked, shaking herself out of the daydreams inspire by Evy's words.

"All the time," the Doctor grinned, "Just for fun."

"That's the  _plan_ ," Evy smirked, nodding conspiratorially back at the Doctor, "Never quite works out with him around."

"Must be rich, though," Astrid commented.

"Haven't got a penny," the Doctor replied, before leaning forward, and whispering, "Stowaways."

"Kidding?" Astrid eyed them, not really believing them.

"Seriously," Evy grinned.

"No!" her eyes widened.

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor nodded.

"How did you get on board?"

"Accident," Evy shrugged.

"I've got this, sort of, ship thing," the Doctor continued, "I was just rebuilding her. Left the defenses down, bumped into the  _Titanic_. Here we are. Bit of a party, I thought 'Why not?'"

"And then he dragged me into it," Evy added, though not sounding at all upset.

"I  _should_  report you," Astrid told them.

"Go on then," the Doctor replied, smiling as though he knew she wouldn't.

Astrid hesitated a moment, when something caught her eye. Evy's face had tensed and she was biting her bottom lip, her entire body tense now that she really looked. She seemed like she was in a lot of pain…

"I'll get you a drink..." she said, more to Evy than the Doctor, but he didn't seem to notice, then she whispered, "On the house," she walked off quickly, wanting to do something to help the nice woman who had been so kind to her.

The Doctor watched as she walked past a group of first class passengers who were laughing and pointing at a heavyset couple dressed in purple country western outfits, sitting at a table, eating buffalo wings.

Evy's body relaxed only a bit before it tensed for another reason, following the Doctor's gaze. Before the Doctor knew what was happening, Evy had walked over to him, linking her arm with his and leading him over to the table. She threw a glance over her shoulder at the group of passengers, making sure that she showed them the full view of her body which, if the Doctor's reaction was anything to go on, was very nice. She glared at them, sticking up her nose before sitting down with the couple, smirking to herself as the other table fell quiet. The Doctor grinned widely, seeing what she had done and sat down beside her.

"Ignore them," Evy shook her head at the other table.

"Something's tickled them," the Doctor commented as he turned to the couple.

"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman replied, "Very funny, I'm sure."

"They're just pickin' on us because we haven't paid," the black man added, nodding at the woman, "We won our tickets in a competition."

"I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in 'By the Light of the Asteroid.' Did you ever watch..."

"Is that the one with the twins?" the Doctor asked, sounding a bit unsure.

"That's it," the woman nodded, "Oh, it's marvelous."

"Probably not good enough for that lot," the man nodded at the table who, while they had stopped their blatant laughs, had settled to quiet whispers and looks over at the large couple, "They think we should be in steerage."

"Can't have that, can we?" the Doctor mumbled, casually reaching into his pocket for the sonic. He held it under his arm, pointed at the table behind them, and flicked it on moments before the champagne on the table popped and sprayed the entire table with its contents.

Not one to be outdone, Evy concentrated hard just as one of the women at the table's hair flew up in the air, revealing it to be a wig! She ran from the room in embarrassment.

Unfortunately, that was not the wisest move, especially so soon after regeneration, she winced and pressed her palm to her head, turning away from the Doctor as though to watch the table jumping about and fleeing so he wouldn't see her pain.

"Did…did you do that?" the woman asked the Doctor.

"Maybe," the Doctor smirked, sliding the screwdriver back into his pocket.

"We like you," the woman told him, smiling at Evy as her head felt better and turned to face them, making sure she caught the trail of blood from her nose before it could fall and leave a stain, "And you!"

"We do," the man agreed, reaching out a hand to the Doctor, "I'm Morvin Van Hoff," and then kissed the back of Evy's hand, "This is my good woman, Foon."

"Foon," Evy smiled warmly at the woman, shaking her hand, "I'm Evy."

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced, taking Foon's hand as well.

"Ooh, I'm gonna need a Doctor by the time I'm finished with this buffet," Foon remarked, nodding to the pile of food before them, "Have a buffalo wing. They must be enormous, these buffalo, so many wings."

The Doctor reached out to take a wing, holding it up to offer it to Evy, but she just shook her head a bit and he shrugged and went to eat it.

"Attention please," the loudspeaker announced, "Shore leave tickets Red 6-7 now activated. Red 6-7."

"Red 6-7," Foon said, pulling out a red ticket with Morvin, "That's us," she stood up, looking at the Doctor and Evy, "Are you Red 6-7?"

The Doctor looked at Evy who shrugged, "Why not," she said.

"Come on," Morvin put an arm around Foon, "We're going to Earth."

As Morvin and Foon headed off, the Doctor stood, offering Evy a hand to be pulled up with. She stumbled but the Doctor seemed not to have noticed the usually graceful girl's trip as he led her away from the table and over to where Morvin and Foon were now running towards an older man holding up a red 6-7 sign.

"Red 6-7!" the older, slightly balding, man called, "Red 6-7. This way, fast as you can."

"I got you that drink," Astrid appeared, holding out a tray with two drinks for Evy and the Doctor, but she was focused more on Evy who looked a bit pale.

"And we got you a treat," the Doctor grinned, taking the tray from her and setting it on a table, "Come on."

"Red 6-7 departing shortly," the man continued.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled up the psychic paper, holding it up for the man to see, "3 Red 6-7s."

The man squinted, seeming to see the ticket on the paper, "Uh quickly, sir, and please take three teleport bracelets if you would."

He did as instructed, handing one to Evy as he slipped on his own.

"I'll get the sack," Astrid whispered, concerned.

"Brand new sky," Evy whispered back, handing her a bracelet. Astrid looked at her a moment, seeing that the woman seemed a bit better, and took it.

"To repeat, I am Mr. Copper, the ship's historian," the man introduced, "And I shall be taking you to old London town in the country of U.K. ruled over by good King Wenceslas," the Doctor and Evy frowned, "Now human beings worshipped the great god Santa, a creature with fearsome claws, and his wife Mary," Evy and the Doctor exchanged an odd look, "And every Christmas Eve the people of U.K. go to war with the country of Turkey," Evy raised an eyebrow at that, "They then eat the Turkey people for Christmas dinner...like savages."

"Excuse me," the Doctor cut in, unable to stand the complete inaccuracy of the man's speech any longer, "Sorry, sorry, but, um...where did you get all this from?"

"Well, I have a first class degree in Earthonomics," Mr. Copper replied, "Now standby..."

"Where did he get that degree?" Evy hissed to the Doctor, "A college attached to a dry cleaners?"

Before the Doctor could reply a small red alien with short spikes along his head rushed over to the group, "And me!" he shouted, his voice very high, "And me! Red 6-7!"

"Well, take a bracelet, sir," Mr. Copper offered.

"Um, but, um, hold on, hold on," the Doctor interrupted again, "What was your name?"

"Bannakaffalatta," he answered.

"Ok, Bannakaffalatta…but it's Christmas Eve down there. Late night shopping, tons of people. He's like a walking conker. No offence, but you'll cause a riot 'cos the streets are going to be packed with shoppers and parties..."

The group was suddenly teleported down to Earth, the Doctor still mid-ramble, only to arrive on an entirely deserted street.

"Oh," he paused, looking around.

"Now, spending money, I have a credit card in Earth currency if you want to by trinkets or, uh, stockings or the local delicacy, which is known as 'beef' but don't stray too far, it could be dangerous," Mr. Copper told them, "Any day now they start boxing…"

"Doctor," Evy remarked, her eyes trailing the abandoned streets while the others of the group stared around in awe, "Something's wrong…where is everyone?"

"It should be full," he agreed, looking around, confused, "It should be busy."

"But it's beautiful," Astrid breathed.

"Really?" the Doctor frowned, turning to face her, "Do you think so? It's just a street. The pyramids are beautiful, and New Zealand..."

"But it's a different planet," Evy smiled, recalling her own thrill at seeing other planets.

"I'm standing on a different planet!" Astrid repeated, "Th…there's concrete...and shops, alien shops, real alien shops! Look, no stars in the sky. And it smells…" she inhaled deeply, "It stinks!" she gasped, turning to them, "This is amazing! Thank you!"

She ran to give the Doctor and Evy a hug each in her excitement.

"Yeah?" the Doctor smiled, catching her enthusiasm.

"Well come on," Evy linked arms with Astrid, "Let's take a look."

And with that, she led Astrid across the street to a newsagent's booth, the only thing that seemed to be open on the street. There was an old man sitting there, bundled in his winter clothes.

"Hello there!" the Doctor greeted, "Sorry, uh, obvious question, but where's everybody gone?"

"Oh ho, scared!" the man replied.

"Right, yes," the Doctor nodded, before frowning, "Scared of what?"

"Can't you guess?" Evy turned to face him, "London at Christmas?"

The Doctor just looked confused.

"Where have you been living?" the old man frowned at him, "Not safe, is it?"

"Why?" the Doctor's frown deepened.

"Well, it's them, up above," he pointed up at the sky.

Evy sighed, the Doctor could be rather slow at times, "The Christmas before last, the Sycorax and blood control, and then last year, the um, 'Christmas Star' electrocuting everything…" she looked at the Doctor meaningfully, "…draining the Thames."

"And this year," the old man shook his head, "Lord knows what. So everybody's scarpered, gone to the country. All except me...and Her Majesty."

He stood proudly and looked at a small TV he had playing, "Her Majesty the Queen has confirmed that she will be staying in Buckingham Palace throughout the festive season to show the people of London, and the world, that there's nothing to fear," the news reporter announced.

"God bless her!" the man saluted, "We stand vigil."

"Well, between you and me, I think her Majesty's got it right," the Doctor told him, "Far as I know, this year, nothing to worry about…"

Evy's eyes widened, "Don't say that!"

Then suddenly, they disappeared, teleported back to the ship.

"I was in mid-sentence!" the Doctor grumbled.

"And about to jinx us!" Evy argued, already feeling like doom was eminent.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that," Mr. Copper explained, "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets…"

Evy saw the chief steward step up and quickly grabbed Astrid's arm, pulling her behind her and the Doctor so she wouldn't get caught.

"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, we seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation," the steward explained, "If you'd like to return to the festivities. And on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners, free drinks will be provided."

As the man walked off with a few other stewards Astrid stepped out from behind the two, "That was the best, the best!" she handed them her bracelet and went off to get back to her job.

The Doctor approached the chief steward as Evy deposited the three bracelets into the bin and followed.

"What sort of power fluctuation?" the Doctor asked.

Unfortunately the chief steward was called away before he could reply.

The Doctor sighed and turned to face Evy, watching her as she grew concerned with their situation. Something in his heart tugged at him and before he knew it he was holding out a hand for her to take. She looked up at him, a bit startled, but took his hand nonetheless and was led onto the dance floor.

From there, she could see everything going on around her. There were Foon and Morvin eating at their table while the stewards were keeping tabs on the robotic angels, the rude man from before was winning at roulette, Bannakaffalatta was dancing around a little ways away from them, and Astrid was standing off to the side, watching them with a smile on her face as she served drinks around.

She was really starting to enjoy the dance when the Doctor suddenly led her off the dance floor and over to a video screen playing a loop of Max Capricorn.

"...and I should know because my name...is Max," the video said.

Evy frowned as the Doctor pulled out his specs and the sonic, flashing it across the frame. She bit the inside of her lip, she still couldn't read the Doctor…she had no idea what he was planning or even thinking. She reached up and rubbed her head, she could already feel a hole forming in her mind from the silence. Centuries of nothing but constant voices in her mind from her family, friends, and the Doctor, and then years of just the Doctor…and now nothing…it was like going through withdrawals.

"The fastest, the furthest, the best...my name...is Max," the video faded as the Doctor pulled the frame open and began to flash the screwdriver around. Evy sighed and turned to lean against the window and looked out…only for her eyes to widen in fear at what she was seeing.

The Doctor shut the frame, a new video playing, the radar of the  _Titanic_. But perhaps he didn't need that as Evy's gasp drew his attention. He leaned over to look over her shoulder at that meteorites headed straight towards them.

He glanced back at the screen, his own eyes widening when he realized the shields were offline.

He quickly flashed the sonic again, patching himself into the main control room, "Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in…" he went to look at the location but Evy was one step ahead.

"West 0 by North 2," she finished.

"Who is this?" an older man appeared on the screen, one who could only be the captain.

"Never mind that," the Doctor waved him off, "Your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and no shielding!"

"You have no authorization," the captain told him, "You will clear the comms. at once."

"Yeah?" the Doctor shot back, "Just look starboard!"

"Doctor," Evy said quietly, "…he knows."

The Doctor looked over at her, startled at her words, but even more disturbed when he realized she was correct. The captain  _knew_  the shields were down and the meteorites were coming, he wouldn't be arguing with them so much if he didn't.

Before he could even tell the captain off for his insanity, a group of stewards appeared, grabbing him between them, another grabbing hold of Evy and trying to lead them away.

"Come with me, sir, ma'am," the chief steward turned to led them out.

Evy opened her mouth to tell the steward now crushing her arm in his grip to let her go, but a sudden wave of pain overtook her. She was cursing herself, she hadn't given herself enough time to recover from her regeneration. Usually she would be fine after a few hours or so, but she had been fighting the aftereffects the entire time, not allowing the golden energy to escape her but keeping it contained, because she didn't want the Doctor to worry about her or force her to stay behind and rest while he rushed off into danger so she'd been hiding it from him…it hurt, so much…but he didn't even seem to notice.

"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down!" the Doctor was arguing as the stewards dragged him through the reception area. He managed to break away from them for only a moment, running onto the stage where the band was playing, "Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifeb…"

One of the robots grabbed the Doctor, covering his mouth and pulling him away. Evy struggled to get out of the steward's grip, but after the Doctor's escape he held onto her tighter. She was shoved through the doors just barely managing to catch sight of Astrid, Foon, Morvin, and Bannakaffalatta watching in surprise.

"Look out the windows!" she could hear the Doctor shouting behind her as they both struggled in the stewards' grips. She could just make out the sound of extra feet following them as she and the Doctor were led below deck.

"If you don't believe me, check the shields yourself!" the Doctor called.

"Sir, I can vouch for him!" Astrid's voice rang out, followed by Morvin's.

"Look, Steward, he's just had a bit too much to drink…"

"Sir," Mr. Copper stepped forward, "Something seems to have gone wrong. All the teleports are down."

"Not now!" the chief steward shouted, leading the two struggling guests through the maintenance corridors.

"The shields are down," Evy gasped, as the steward twisted her arm, "We are going to get hit."

"Oi!" another voice joined them, it was the rude man from before, "Steward! I'm telling you the shields are down!"

"Listen to him!" the Doctor shouted, "Listen to him!"

The chief steward stopped suddenly and spun to face them, ready to give an angry retort, when they were suddenly jolted violently to the side as the ship was hit by the meteoroids. Evy felt herself hit the wall hard as she was half thrown out of the steward's grip and fell to the floor, holding her arm in a tight grip.

Things were sparking around her and everything was in chaos…she could feel a flash of fear strike across her when suddenly she felt herself being pulled into someone's arms. She looked up to see the Doctor leaning over her, protecting her as they were thrown back to the floor. They huddled there for a few moments more as things seemed to calm down.

The Doctor was on his feet in an instant, "Shh!" he hissed at them, listening intently, "It's stopping."

Everyone seemed to settle down at that.

"You alright?" he whispered, reaching out to help her to her feet. He frowned, seeing her rubbing her arm and moved to look at it, but she just shook her head and pulled back.

"I'm fine," she smiled at him, bending her arm to show it was just a bit bruised. She moved over to the other passengers and went to help them up, starting with Mr. Copper and then Astrid, "You ok?"

"I think so," Astrid replied, shaken but seeming fine.

"Bad name for a ship," the Doctor commented, looking around at the destruction, "Either that or this suit is really unlucky."

"That suit is definitely bad luck," Evy remarked.

He smiled at her, kneeling down to examine one of the stewards, but he was gone.

"My name...is Max," the voice of the video played over the system behind them, "My name...is Max. My name...is Max."

Evy rolled her eyes and moved over to the comm. panel, pulling a side piece off and tweaking a wire, shutting down Capricorn's voice.

"Ev…everyone..." the chief steward stood, trying to remain calm but his shaking voice betrayed his fear, "Ladies and gentlemen, Bannakaffalatta, I must apologize on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruise Liners. We seem to have had a small collision."

"Small?" Morvin asked, indignant, as he held Foon to him.

"You know how much I paid for my ticket?" the rude man demanded.

"If I could have silence, ladies, gentlemen..." the chief steward began, but everyone seemed to be ignoring him, continuing to argue amongst themselves.

A high-pitched noise quickly silenced them as they looked over to see Evy letting go of two wires that had caused horrible feedback to resound. She took a breath and turned to the steward, "Steward, if you would?"

"Thank you," he tried to smile, but it was more a shame filled grimace than anything, "I…I'm sure Max Capricorn Cruise Liners will be able to reimburse you for any inconvenience. But first I would point out that we are very much alive."

"Are you alright?" Astrid asked, seeing a cut on Mr. Copper's head. She knelt beside him and began to dab at it. Evy, seeing this, went to join her, the Doctor following to examine the injured man.

"She is, after all, a fine, sturdy ship," the steward continued, "If you could all stay here while I ascertain the exact nature of the…the situation," he turned around and went to open a hatch.

"Don't open that!" Evy shouted, alarmed.

But it was too late, the hatch opened and the steward was sucked out into space. Everyone grabbed a hold of anything near them that was secure enough to keep them in place. The Doctor managed to make his way over to the comms., flashing the sonic over the computer, reactivating the oxygen shields. Immediately the vacuum dwindled and the group let go of the piping.

"Oxygen shield stabilized," the computer announced.

"Everyone alright?" the Doctor looked around, "Evy?" Evy looked up, from gasping, leaning against the wall next to Astrid and nodded, "Astrid?"

"Yeah," Astrid panted.

"Foon?" he turned his attention to the rest, "Morvin? Mr. Copper? Bannakaffalatta?"

"Yes," Bannakaffalatta answered.

"You," the Doctor nodded to the rude man, "What was your name?"

"Ah, Rickston Slade," the man smirked.

"You alright?"

"No thanks to that idiot."

"Don't make me slap you," Evy glared at him at the same time that Astrid said, "The steward just died!"

"Then he's a dead idiot," Rickston waved them off.

Astrid gasped and Evy took a step towards Rickston with every intention of actually smacking him when the Doctor called them all back.

"Alright, calm down," the Doctor said, "Just stay still, all of you. Hold on," he walked over to the hatch opening and looked out, Evy and Astrid going to join him.

"What happened?" Astrid asked, seeing Evy and the Doctor examining it, "How come the shields were down?"

"It wasn't an accident," Evy breathed, she'd been  _so_  hoping that she had been wrong, but all evidence said otherwise.

Astrid turned and looked out at space, only to see the bodies of the guests and staff floating amongst the rubble, "How many dead?"

"We're alive," the Doctor replied, "Just focus on that."

"We'll get you out of here, Astrid," Evy reached out and took the girl's hand, sensing her sorrow and fear, "I promise," Astrid nodded.

"If we can get to reception, I've got a spaceship tucked away," the Doctor looked around, trying to determine the best way back, "We can all get on board..."

"Doctor," Evy cut in. He looked at her, but she just pointed outside.

He turned and followed her direction, "Oh."

"What is it?" Astrid looked out, not seeing what was going on, "What's wrong?"

"That's my spaceship over there," the Doctor pointed with Evy.

"Where?"

"There, the box," Evy nodded at the TARDIS floating by, "The blue box."

" _That's_  a spaceship?" Astrid asked incredulously.

"Oi, don't knock it," the Doctor defended.

"It's a bit small."

"Distant too," Evy added.

"Trouble is," the Doctor frowned, "Once it's set adrift, it's programmed to lock onto the nearest center of gravity and that would be..."

"The Earth," Evy finished as they watched the TARDIS fly back to the planet.

She turned away from the portal and walked back to the comm. panel, kneeling down and began fiddling with the wires again.

"What are you doing?" Astrid asked, seeing her walk away. The Doctor turned around as well.

"We can't be the only one's still alive," she reasoned, "The bridge would have to be heavily protected in case of an emergency…" she tweaked a wire, twisting it with another, "I'm just trying to…" there was a small spark which made Astrid jump but Evy grin, she stood up and flicked a button, "There we go."

"Brilliant!" the Doctor grinned, stepping forward and leaning over to the microphone, "Deck 22 to the bridge. Deck 22 to the bridge. Is there anyone there?"

There was the sound of static for just a moment before a voice responded, "This is the bridge."

"Oh hello, sailor," the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief, "Good to hear you. What's the situation up there?"

"We've got air. The oxygen field is holding. But the captain...he's dead. He did it…" his voice broke, "I watched while he took down the shields. There was nothing I could do. I tried. I did try."

Evy elbowed the Doctor out of the way, "Alright. Just stay calm. Tell me your name. What's your name?"

"Midshipman Frame."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Frame," Evy smiled, though she could see the Doctor frowning at her for some reason out of the corner of her eyes and her smile dimmed, "What's the state of the engines?"

"They're um...hold on..."

There was a sudden groan over the speaker, "Have you been injured?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I'm alright," Frame replied, "Oh my Vot. They're cycling down."

"That's a nuclear storm drive, yes?" the Doctor stepped forward.

"Yeah."

"The moment they're gone, we lose orbit," the Doctor sighed.

"The planet!"

"Oh yes," he nodded, even if Frame couldn't see it, "If we hit the planet, the nuclear storm explodes and wipes out life on Earth."

"Mr. Frame," Evy cut in, "I need you to fire up the engine containment field and feed it back into the core."

"This is never going to work," Frame told them.

"It'll keep the engines going until we can get to the bridge," Evy replied, switching off the comm. and looking up to see the Doctor looking down at her.

She frowned, he was wearing an expression that seemed almost a cross between disappointment and shock. She looked away as the Doctor spun around to face the others. She really had no idea what to make of it.

"We're going to die!" Foon wept.

"Are you saying someone's done this on purpose?" Mr. Copper asked.

"We're just a cruise ship!" Astrid argued.

"Okay, okay," the Doctor cut in, "Tch, tch. First things first. One: we're going to climb through this ship. B…"

"Two," Evy corrected quietly.

"Right, two..." the Doctor amended, smiling at her.

Evy frowned at that, she knew Time Lord mood swings could be extreme, but this was ridiculous! One minute he was disappointed in her, the next he was amused…she wished he would lower his mental shields so she could see what he was thinking. It was driving her mad!

"We're going to reach the bridge," he continued, oblivious to her frustrations, "Three or C: we're going to save the  _Titanic_. And, coming in a very low Four or D or that little 'iv' in brackets they use in footnotes: why? Right then, follow me."

"Hang on a minute," Rickston called, forcing the Doctor to turn around from his dramatic exit, "Who put  _you_  in charge and who the hell are you anyway?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced seriously, "I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who's gonna save your lives and all six billion of the people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?"

"No," Rickston nearly gaped.

Evy couldn't help but smile through the Doctor's spiel, she loved it when he got all heroic and speechy around others and all take charge. She could feel her hearts beating rapidly in her chest.

"In that case," the Doctor grinned, "Allons-y!"

He turned on his heel and stalked off down the hall, reaching out and taking Evy's hand in his own as he passed her, pulling her with him as the others followed behind.

They didn't get very far as the only door at the end of the hall was blocked by debris. They managed to clear it, the Doctor pushing it open to reveal a stairwell, littered much worse with debris than the hall had been. Cables were hanging everywhere, sparking.

"Careful," he warned as he pushed through and climbed into the stairwell, "Follow me."

Evy followed after him, the Doctor reaching out a hand to help her through as Astrid came next, then Bannakaffalatta, Mr. Copper, Rickston, and finally Foon and Morvin.

"Rather ironic when this is very much in the spirit of Christmas," Mr. Copper commented as they climbed the stairs, "It's a festival of violence. They say that human beings only survive depending on whether they've been good or bad. It's barbaric."

"That's not true at all," Evy replied as the Doctor began tossing some debris away to clear a path, "Christmas is a time of peace and love and..."

"What are you on about?" the Doctor turned an amused grin back at her, "Christmas is  _always_  like this," he laughed at her roll of the eye before turning back to see a dormant robot lying there, partially crushed beneath some rubble, "We've got a Host. Strength of ten. If we can mend it, we can use it to fix the rubble," he looked at Evy, knowing her knack for fixing things, when Morvin called out.

"We can do robotics, both of us!"

"We worked on the milk market back on Sto," Foon explained, "It's all robot staff."

He looked at Evy who shrugged, they would probably have a better chance at fixing a robot they were used to working on than she would trying to figure it out as she went, even if she was pretty fast.

Seeing her train of thought now that her mind was open to him the Doctor nodded to them, "See if you can get it working," he then turned back to Evy and Astrid, "Let's have a look."

Everyone but Morvin and Foon began to climb the stairs only to find their path blocked by more wreckage.

"It's blocked," Astrid frowned.

"So what do we do?" the Doctor asked out loud.

Evy grinned, "We shift it."

"That's the attitude," he returned her grin, "Rickston, Mr. Copper, and you, Bannakaffalatta...look, can I just call you Banna? It's gonna save a lot of time."

"No!" Bannakaffalatta replied, indignant, "Bannakaffalatta!"

"Alright then, Bannakaffalatta, there's a gap in the middle," he nodded at a small path through the rubble, "See if you can get through."

"Easy," the red alien nodded, "Good."

He knelt down and began to crawl through with ease, managing to make it to the other side just as the ship lurched, sending loose debris falling around them.

"This whole thing could come crashing down any minute!" Rickston shouted.

"Oh, Rickston, I forgot," the Doctor turned to him, "Did you get our message?"

"No," he frowned, "What message?"

"Shut up!" Evy shouted, the man was starting to severely irritate her.

"Bannakaffalatta made it," a voice called from the other side of the path.

"I'm small enough," Astrid said, pushing herself towards the hole and crawling through, "I can get through."

"Careful!" Evy replied.

"I'm fine," Astrid called back.

"Thing is, how are Mr. and Mrs. Fatso gonna get through this gap?" Rickston snorted.

"We make the gap bigger," the Doctor glared at the man, shoving him a piece of metal while Evy watched out for Astrid, "So start."

Evy glanced over at the path down the stairs, knowing that Foon must have heard them, "Don't you dare Foon!" she shouted, startling the men, "Don't you  _dare_  listen to him…he's just jealous that we actually  _want_  to save you and Morvin and not him!"

The Doctor laughed out loud at that remark, having heard Foon beginning to sniffle, though she was now chuckling.

"That's right," they could hear Morvin agree, "Don't listen to him!"

Evy looked back at the tunnel, seeing Astrid through the other side. She leaned forward, about to muscle her way through as well when the Doctor reached out to stop her, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to go help Astrid," she replied, but the Doctor didn't let go of her arm, she sighed and turned back. She could already feel another jolt of regeneration coming and with the Doctor looking at her like that, she wouldn't be able to hide it, "There's bound to be a way to clear it from that side, and even with Bannakaffalatta's help she'll need more power, I'm small enough, I can help."

The Doctor frowned at her, worry evident in his eyes, she reached out before she knew what she was doing and rested a hand on his cheek, "I'll be fine, I promise."

He sighed and nodded, letting go of her arm to allow her through. She smiled at him and began to crawl through, getting halfway in before a wave of pain hit her.

"Evy!" Astrid gasped, leaning over to look back and seeing Evy's face scrunched in pain and fearing she'd been hurt in the jolting.

"I'm fine," she hissed, the pain passing. She glanced back to see that the Doctor's attention had been on Rickston who had just made some sort of comment about a donut or something.

She ground her teeth and crawled the rest of the way.

"What's wrong?" Astrid asked, helping her up, "Are you hurt?"

"It's nothing," Evy answered quickly, too quickly if the look Astrid was giving her was anything to go on, "I'll be fine, but we've got to clear this mess first," she leaned over to look through the tunnel, "We should be able to clear it from this side!" she called back to the Doctor, "Tell me if anything starts moving."

"Bannakaffalatta, what's wrong?" she heard Astrid say and turned around to see the small alien lying on the ground.

"Shh," he held up a finger to his mouth.

"What is it?" Evy asked, walking over to kneel on the other side of him with Astrid.

"Can't say," he mumbled.

"Are you hurt?" Astrid asked, moving to check on him.

"Ashamed."

"Of what?" Evy frowned.

"Poor Bannakaffalatta…" he lifted his shirt to reveal cybernetic components.

"You're a cyborg," Evy's eyes widened, not from disgust or anything, but rather shock, she hadn't even noticed.

"Had accident long ago. Secret."

"No, but everything's changed now," Astrid reassured him, "Cyborgs are getting equal rights. They passed a law back on Sto. You can even get married."

"Marry you?" Bannakaffalatta looked between the two of them.

"Taken," Evy responded automatically, "Sort of."

"You can buy me a drink first," Astrid winked.

"Come on," Evy smiled, pressing a button, "Let's get you all charged up."

"Just stay there for a bit," Astrid told him as they got up to get back to clearing.

"Tell no one," he said.

"Promise," Astrid replied as Evy nodded.

"What's going on up there?" the Doctor's voice called back to them.

"I think Bannakaffalatta and Astrid just got engaged," Evy called back.

The Doctor's laugh echoed through the tunnel as Evy and Astrid got back to work clearing the damage.

"Almost done!" Morvin called moments later.

"Good, good, good," the Doctor grinned when the comm. started to crackle, "Mr. Frame, how's things?"

"Doctor, I've got life signs all over the ship but they're going out one by one," Frame informed him.

Evy paused in her ministrations hearing that.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked seriously, "Are they losing air?"

"No," Frame replied, "One of them said it's the Host. It's something to do with the Host."

"It's working!" Morvin called as the robot sprang to life.

"Kill," it said, "Kill. Kill."

"Turn it off!" the Doctor shouted, his voice growing fainter as he ran away from the tunnel.

"Doctor!" Evy shouted.

"I can't, Doctor!" Foon called, trying to shut the robot off.

"Go!" the Doctor ordered.

"What's going on?" Evy leaned down and looked through the tunnel, seeing Foon arrive but the Doctor nowhere to be seen, "Doctor!"

"Locked!" the Doctor shouted back to her, "Double deadlock!"

"Doctor!" Evy yelled, her eyes wide at that bit of information.

"Okay, go upstairs!" the Doctor said to Morvin.

"Run, darling, run!" Foon called down to him.

"Information: kill, kill, kill..." the robot repeated.

"Foon!" Morvin called, the stairs echoing as he rushed up them, "Foon!"

"Rickston!" the Doctor shouted, "Get them through!"

"No chance!" Rickston called back, pushing himself through the narrow tunnel instead.

"You bastard!" Evy shouted at him, stepping back as he pushed her out of the way to get out on their end.

"Rickston!" Mr. Copper called in disgust.

"I'll never get through there," Foon breathed.

"Yes, you can," Evy called back.

"Let me go first," Mr. Copper offered, being slightly bigger than Rickston, he moved in, trying to push away as much debris as he could as he climbed through.

Evy peered through, just managing to see the Doctor reach the comm. panel and breathed a sigh of relief, he was alright.

"It's the Host!" he called into the comm., "They've gone berserk! Are you safe up there?"

There was no reply.

"No, I'm stuck!" Foon called as she tried to push her way in after Mr. Copper.

"Come on, you can do it!" Astrid called, grabbing her arms and pulling.

The tunnel began shifting, Mr. Copper ran to it, grabbing a metal pole as it began to move, using it as a lever to hold the space open, "It's going to collapse!" he called. Evy ran to his side, seeing him struggle with it, and grabbed the pole as well, the two of them widening the space enough for Foon to make it through, "Rickston, Vot damn it, help us!"

"No...way..." Rickston panted.

"Morvin, get through!" the Doctor called from the other side as Morvin tried to squeeze through as well. But he was having a tougher time than Foon.

"Kill," they could hear the robot repeating, drawing nearer, "Kill. Kill."

"Doctor, he's stuck!" Astrid called, grabbing Morvin and trying to pull him as she did Foon.

"Mr. Van Hoff, I know we've only just met but you'll have to excuse me," the Doctor said as Morvin began to move more. Clearly he was shoving the man from the other side.

With a grunt, Morvin made it through.

"That's it," Astrid helped him up, "We've got you."

Evy motioned for Astrid to take her place as she went to kneel by the tunnel, looking through at the Doctor, "Doctor, come on, get through!"

The Doctor rushed into the tunnel just as a robot appeared behind him.

"Information override!" Evy called, the first thing that popped into her mind.

"You will tell me the point of origin of your command structure!" the Doctor finished, seeing the robot hesitate.

"We can't hold it!" Mr. Copper called, straining.

"Information: Deck 31," it answered.

"Thank you," the Doctor smiled as Evy grabbed his arm and half pulled him through the tunnel. He scrambled the rest of the way, getting up to take Mr. Copper's place. He hesitated a moment, waiting for the right time before shouting, "Let go!"

He and Astrid released the pole, the beam it had been holding up crashing down onto the robot's head. Everyone took a moment to collect their breath before walking through the nearest door, finding themselves in a kitchen.

"Morvin, look, food!" Foon shouted, catching sight of a pile of leftovers on a table.

"Oh great," Rickston commented, rolling his eyes, "Someone's happy."

"Don't have any then," Morvin shot back at the man.

Evy ignored the bickering, despite how desperately she wanted to smack the man with the frying pan she had caught sight of, to head to the comm. link. She flicked a button, calling the bridge, "Mr. Frame are you still there?"

"Yes, ma'am, but I've got Host outside," Frame replied, "I sealed the door."

"They've been programmed to kill," the Doctor informed him, coming up beside Evy, "Why would anyone do that?"

"That's not the only problem, Doctor, I had to use a maximum deadlock on the door, which means...no one can get in. I'm sealed off. Even if you can fix the  _Titanic_ , you can't get to the bridge."

"Yeah, right, fine," the Doctor nodded, "One problem at a time. What's on Deck 31?"

"Um, that's down below," Frame answered, bringing up a schematic for them to see, "It's nothing. It's just the Host storage deck. That's where we keep the robots."

"What's that?" Evy frowned, pointing at a section of the schematic, a long black rectangle. The Doctor put on his specs, squinting, "See that panel?" Evy looked up at him, tapping the screen, "Black. It's registering nothing. No power, no heat, no light."

"Never seen it before," Frame commented.

"100 percent shielded," Evy added.

"What's down there?" the Doctor asked in thought.

"I'll try intensifying the scanner," Frame told them.

"Let me know if you find anything," the Doctor said, taking off his specs, "And keep those engines going!"

"Saved you some," Astrid called, going up to them with a tray of food, "You might be a Time King from Gaddabee but you need to eat," she smiled at Evy, "And you too, us humans can't go too long either."

"Thanks," Evy smiled, taking the food and sitting down next to the Doctor, "But I'm sort of like him," she nodded at the Doctor.

Astrid's eyes widened, "You're a Time Queen?"

"Time Lady," Evy corrected.

Astrid sat back a little, letting out a breath, "I should have known."

"What do you mean?" Evy asked, taking a small piece of fruit to eat.

"Well, you're with him, aren't you?" Astrid asked, nodding at the Doctor, "And you're far too beautiful to be a human."

Evy frowned, she really needed to see a mirror and figure out why everyone kept looking at her longer than necessary. She couldn't be  _that_  pretty by any stretch of the imagination, none of her previous regenerations were.

"So…" Astrid trailed, looking for something to say, "You look good for 903."

"You should see him in the mornings," Evy swallowed a piece of fruit.

"Hey!" the Doctor cried indignantly, "I'm not  _that_  bad."

"Oh, so you didn't just about give Martha heart attack when you walked into the kitchen that one time?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "Your hair all mussed, bags under your eyes, a bit of drool…"

"Oi!" he cut in, looking a bit embarrassed.

Evy just shook her head and laughed to herself with Astrid laughing out loud.

"Doctor, Miss Evy," Mr. Copper interrupted lightly, coming over to them, "It must be well past midnight, Earth time. Christmas Day."

"So it is," the Doctor nodded.

"Merry Christmas," Evy greeted.

"This Christmas thing, what's it all about?" Astrid frowned, sensing that everything Mr. Copper had been spouting before had been quite wrong judging by Evy and the Doctor's reaction.

"Long story," the Doctor replied, smirking at Evy, "We should know, we were there, well, us and another friend of ours. We got the last room."

"I  _still_  can't believe you made us do that!" Evy commented, "That poor woman giving birth in a manger and you…"

"If we hadn't taken that room then the whole of Christian mythology would have been altered."

"Well, it's my opinion that something like _that_  shouldn't be a fixed event in time. Honestly! Making women…"

"Next time we encounter a virgin giving birth to a child that will become the next messiah of a major monotheistic religion, I'll take the manger," he rolled his eyes playfully at her, knowing he'd have to stop the argument before it got started. There were always ongoing debates on Gallifrey about exactly what could constitute a fixed point in time, if it could be altered just a bit without throwing off the whole of time itself, and so on. Even though they couldn't have the conversation now, what with crazy robots after them, he looked forward to having just such a debate one day, "Happy?"

She nodded.

"But if the planet's waking up, can't we signal them?" Mr. Copper asked, "They can send up a rocket or something."

"They don't have spaceships," Evy informed him.

"No, I read about it. They have shuffles, space shuffles."

The Doctor looked at Evy for a moment before they turned their attention back to him, "Mr. Copper," the Doctor hesitated, "This degree in Earthonomics...where's it from?"

"Honestly?" he asked, sitting down.

"Just between us," he promised.

"Mrs. Golightly's Happy Travelling University and Dry Cleaners," he answered, mopping his head with a hanky.

"I knew it," Evy whispered quietly so that only the Doctor could hear her.

"You…you lied to the company...to get the job?" Astrid's eyes widened.

"I…I wasted my life on Sto," he admitted, "I was a travelling salesman, always on the road and I reached retirement with nothing to show for it. Not even a home. And Earth sounded so exotic."

"Hmm, I suppose it is, yeah," the Doctor mumbled, lost in thought.

"How come you know it so well?" Astrid looked at them.

"We sort of...found ourselves homeless, a few years ago," Evy answered, taking the Doctor's hand and squeezing it reassuringly, she didn't blame him at all for what happened on Gallifrey, she really couldn't, not with the hand she and her family had played in it all.

The Doctor nodded, "And um, there was the Earth."

"Thing is, if we survive this, there will be police and all sorts of investigations," Mr. Copper continued, "Now the minimum penalty for space-age fraud is ten years in jail. I'm an old man. Well, I won't survive ten years."

Astrid looked at the old man sadly while the Doctor and Evy shared a slightly conspiratorial look, as though both coming to the same idea. Evy turned to the man, about to speak when there was a fierce banging on the door.

The Doctor was up and on his feet before Evy could even put the food in her hand down. He ran to the door on the opposite end of the room, "A Host! Move! Come on!"

The pounding continued, creating dents in the door. Astrid screamed as they all raced to follow the Doctor. He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and flashed the door, opening it to reveal a large space with a large fire at the bottom, the engines, and only a makeshift bridge, a fallen strut, as the way across.

"Is that the only way across?" Rickston glancing around.

"On the other hand, it is a way across," the Doctor responded optimistically.

"The engines are open," Astrid looked down.

"Nuclear storm drive," Evy commented, kneeling at the edge and leaning over, holding onto a railing to support herself, "As soon as that stops, the  _Titanic_  falls to Earth."

"But that thing," Morvin focused on the beam as he held onto his wife, "It'll never take our weight."

"You're going last, mate," Rickston commented.

"It's nitrofine metal," Evy glared up at him, pulling herself up.

"It's stronger than it looks," the Doctor agreed.

"All the same, Rickston's right," Morvin stressed, taking a step forward, "Me and Foon should…" he took another step, right on a weak piece of metal near the edge…the railing gave way and Morvin fell off the ledge and towards the engines, his scream echoing up to them.

"Morvin!" Foon shouted, reaching for him, but unable to move as Evy had rushed to her side to hold her back.

"I told you!" Rickston shouted as everyone watched in horror, "I told you!"

"Just shut up!" Mr. Copper snapped, "Shut up!"

Foon fell to her knees, taking Evy with her as the Doctor rushed over to them, "Bring him back!" Foon begged, looking between Evy and the Doctor, "Can't you bring him back? Bring him back, Doctor!"

"I'm sorry, I can't," he frowned.

"You promised me!" Foon cried.

"I know," he looked away, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

There was a bang on the door, the Host had found them.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Evy, having to deal with her regeneration, her new personality, and the mental 'silent treatment' from the Doctor. But, awww, he cares...when he's not going through mood swings and confusing her lol.
> 
> Next chapter will see Evy discover a new reaction to the Doctor being an idiot, the Doctor gets a lesson in using plurals, Evy attempts the impossible (will she succeed?), and someone has a breakdown.


	3. Voyage of the Damned (Part 2)

"Doctor, I rather think those things have got our scent," Mr. Copper said as the banging of the Host reached them.

"I'm not waiting," Rickston replied, starting across the makeshift bridge.

"Careful!" the Doctor called, getting up and rushing around the group to watch Rickston, "Take it slowly!"

There was a rumble as the ship rocked, nearly knocking Rickston off the beam.

"Damn it!" Evy hissed, drawing Foon and Astrid's attention, "So close," she didn't  _actually_  wish death on the man, but he was seriously gnawing at her last nerve, which was hard to do considering the patience of a Time Lord.

"Vot help me," Rickston mumbled.

"You're okay," the Doctor told him, "One step at a time. Come on, you can do it."

"Kill," they could hear the robots repeating as they drew closer, "Kill. Kill."

"They're getting nearer!" Mr. Copper shouted.

"Doctor," Evy twisted to face him, "Seal us in."

He looked at her a moment before nodding and whipping out the sonic, flashing the door to do just that.

"Leaving us trapped, wouldn't you say?" Mr. Copper asked.

"Never say trapped, just inconveniently circumstanced," the Doctor replied.

"Oh," Mr. Copper nodded.

"I'm ok!" Rickston called, as though they cared. He was halfway across.

"Maybe he's alright," Foon mumbled. Evy looked back down as she and Astrid hugged the woman, "Maybe…maybe there's a gravity curve down there or something. I don't know. Maybe he's unconscious."

"I'm sorry, Foon," Astrid began, tears in her eyes as she hugged her more.

"He's gone," Evy confirmed.

"What am I going to do without him?" Foon cried desperately, breaking down between them. Astrid and Evy shared a concerned look before hugging the woman as best they could.

"Yes!" Rickston shouted, making it across, "Oh yes! Who's good?"

"Bannakaffalatta, you go next," the Doctor ordered.

"Bannakaffalatta small," the alien agreed.

"Slowly!" the Doctor warned as the alien tried to scamper across. Bannakaffalatta slowed down, being more careful.

The robots pounded on the door.

"They've found us!" Mr. Copper called.

"Astrid," the Doctor reached out, pulling Astrid up, "Get across right now."

"What about you?" she asked, looking at him and Evy.

"We'll be fine," Evy assured her, rocking Foon a bit.

"Just do it," the Doctor pushed her, "Go on," she started across, "Mr. Copper, we can't wait. Don't argue," he nudged Copper towards the beam as well. He turned to Evy and Foon, nodding at Evy who began to heft the woman up, "Foon, you've got to get across right now."

"What for?" she mumbled brokenly, "What am I gonna do without him?"

"Doctor!" Rickston called, "The door's locked!"

"You're gonna live," Evy told the woman.

"Just think...what would he want, eh?" the Doctor agreed.

"He don't want nothing, he's dead!" she sobbed.

"You think he'd want you to die too?" Evy asked, stepping in front of the woman and lifting her face, "Is that  _really_  what you think he'd  _want_?"

"Doctor, I can't open the door," Rickston called, "We need the whirring key thing of yours!"

The Doctor looked torn between the two groups of people, the humans trying to survive or the woman he knew was his Link who seemed unwilling to leave Foon. He reached out towards Evy, gently taking her arm, but she wrenched free, "I'm not leaving her," she stated.

"She'll get us all killed if we can't get out!" Rickston called over to them, seeing them hesitate.

"I can't leave you," the Doctor admitted, "Please Evy," he whispered, resting his forehead against the back of her head, "I can't lose you too, I…I can't be the last one again…"

Evy let out a breath, shaking her head a bit before turning her attention back to Foon, "Foon," she lifted the woman's head again, looking her straight in the eyes, "We are coming back for you, alright?" she left no room for argument from the Doctor with her tone, not that he would argue, he wanted to help the woman just as much as she did.

Foon nodded and the Doctor gently pulled Evy away from her and towards the beam. He sent her across first, following close behind, both trying to ignore the metal creaking under the weight of all five of them crossing.

"Too many people!" Bannakaffalatta called back.

"Oi!" the Doctor yelled back, "Don't get spiky with me! Keep going!"

"It's gonna fall!" Astrid shouted.

"It's  _settling_!" Evy reassured her, "Just keep going!"

Suddenly it became very quiet, the pounding stopping.

Evy tensed, "Doctor…" she looked over her shoulder at him, "Why's it stopped?"

"They've stopped!" Astrid shouted, happily.

"Gone away?" Bannakaffalatta frowned.

"Why would they give up?" the Doctor asked himself.

"I don't think they have," Evy shook her head, they  _had_  to be up to something.

"Never mind that," Rickston called, "Keep coming!"

"Where have they gone?" the Doctor looked back at the door for a moment before turning to Evy as though she would have the answer, "Where are the Host?"

She could only shake her head, she had no idea.

"I'm afraid..." Mr. Copper's voice drifted over to them, "…we forgot the tradition of Christmas…" they looked over at him to see him staring up, "That angels have wings!"

He pointed and they all looked up to see the robots gliding down from above and circling them.

"Information: kill," they said, reaching for their halos.

"Doctor…" Evy mumbled, he looked over at her as he stood up, "When we get back to the TARDIS…I'm  _burning_  that suit."

He would have laughed at her had the robots not moved to the ready, preparing themselves to throw their halos, "Arm yourselves!" he shouted to the rest, "All of you!"

Everyone reached around them for pipes and bits of metal to defend themselves with as the robots threw their halos. Evy grabbed a fairly light pipe and slammed a halo with it, batting it away. She twisted the metal with her wrist, prepared and ready to hit the next one. She was doing slightly better than the rest of the group, having managed to hit a halo back at the robot it came from, cutting off its head. But her attention was broken by a grunt from behind her. She turned to see a halo flying past the Doctor, him holding his arm as he was grazed.

"Doctor!" she called, "Are you alright?'

"I'm fine," he groaned, swinging the pipe and smashing a halo away again.

As Evy turned around to focus on the disks, one flew right past her. She managed to lean over enough to avoid it, but it was too much, she fell off the side of the beam.

"Evy!" the Doctor shouted, reaching out for her, but a disk flew past him. He stumbled back, managing to catch his footing and looked over to see that Evy had managed to grab onto the edge of the beam. He ran to her side and began pulling her up.

She gasped as she managed to climb back onto the beam as Mr. Copper called out as well. Evy looked over to see Astrid falling to her knees, "I can't," the young woman gasped.

Bannakaffalatta stood up, "Bannakaffalatta stop! Bannakaffalatta proud! Bannakaffalatta cyborg!"

They watched in awe as the small alien lifted his shirt, discharging energy, completely disabling the robots which all fell into the engines below save one that fell onto the beam just behind the Doctor.

"Electromagnetic pulse short circuited them," Evy gasped, looking over the Doctor's shoulders as he held her to him. She almost breathed a sigh of relief when another wave of regenerative pain hit her, she tensed.

"Oh, Bannakaffalatta, that was brilliant!" the Doctor called, his arms still around Evy, who was shaking just a bit in his arms. He rubbed her arm, trying to calm her down, assuming she was shaken from their close encounter with the Host.

But then Bannakaffalatta fell back, Astrid scrambling to his side, "He's used all his power!" she called back to them.

"Did good?" the small alien asked, looking up at Astrid.

"You saved our lives," she told him.

"Bannakaffalatta happy," he smiled.

"We can recharge you, get you to a power point and just plug you in!" Astrid moved to press a button on his stomach but the alien laid a hand on hers.

"Too late."

"No, but...you gotta get me that drink, remember?" Astrid tried to smile even as her voice broke.

The Doctor's arms tightened around Evy as he watched the interaction between the woman and alien, Evy shifted in his arms, relaxing from the pain as she turned to face Astrid and Bannakaffalatta as well.

"Pretty girl," Bannakaffalatta murmured before his eyes fluttered closed.

Evy squeezed the Doctor's arms in comfort as they watched Astrid move to button up his little shirt. Mr. Copper reached out and stopped her a moment, his hand lingering over the cybernetic power source, "I'm sorry," he muttered, "Forgive me."

"Leave him alone," Astrid defended, trying to button the shirt up again.

"It's the EMP transmitter," Mr. Copper explained, pulling it out, "He…he'd want us to use it. I used to sell these things. They'd always give me a bed for the night in the cyborg caravans. They're good people. But if we can recharge it, we can reuse it as a weapon against the rest of the Host. Bannakaffalatta might have saved us all."

"Do you think?" Rickston called out to them, "Try telling him that!" he pointed behind them and they turned to see the fallen robot beginning to move.

"Information: reboot," it said as it stood up.

"Use the EMP!"

"It's dead!" Mr. Copper replied.

"It's gotta have emergency…" Astrid began, trying to take the EMP from Mr. Copper as the Doctor turned around to face the robot, trying to keep Evy behind him.

"No, no, no," he held up his hands as he faced it, "Hold on. Override loophole security protocol...10! 666!"

"Doctor!" Evy shouted, trying to get around him.

"Oh," he continued, "21, 4, 5!"

"Doctor!" she tried again.

"6, 7, 8," he ignored her, "Um, I dunno, 42!"

"1!" Evy shouted moments before the robot could slash the Doctor.

It stopped mid-motion and stood passively, Evy could practically feel the Doctor droop in front of her in relief as the robot spoke, "Information: state request."

"Good...right," the Doctor nodded slowly, "You've been ordered to kill the survivors, but why?"

"Information: no witnesses."

"But this ship's gonna fall on the Earth and kill everyone. The human race have nothing to do with the  _Titanic_  so that contravenes your orders, yes?"

"Information: incorrect."

"But why do you want to destroy the Earth?" Evy peeked around his arms.

"Information: it is the plan."

"What plan?" the Doctor frowned.

"Information: protocol grants you only three questions. These three questions have been used."

"Well, you could have warned me," the Doctor grumbled.

"Information: now you will die," the robot readied to strike the Doctor once more when suddenly a lasso was thrown over its head and tightened.

"You're coming with me," Foon said, nodding at the Doctor and Evy before closing her eyes and jumping over the side of the beam, taking the robot with her.

"No!" Evy shouted, reaching for the woman, but the Doctor held her back, "Foon!"

They could only watch, helpless, as Foon fell and disappeared in the fire of the engines. Evy let out a shuddered breath as she closed her eyes, almost as though willing that event to have not transpired.

"No more," the Doctor mumbled in her ear as he hugged her tightly to him for a moment, "No more."

He reached out, taking her hand before gently pulling her away from the edge and towards the rest of the group who had begun climbing to platform where Rickston was standing.

The Doctor used the sonic to open the doors and they found themselves in another maintenance corridor, "Right," he looked around, "Get up to Reception One. Once you're there, Mr. Copper, you've got staff access to the computer. Try and find a way of transmitting an SOS," he turned to Astrid, holding out the EMP, "Astrid, you're in charge of this. Once it's powered up, it'll take out Hosts within fifty yards but then it needs sixty seconds to recharge. Got it?" he turned to Rickston, giving him the sonic, "Rickston, take this, I've preset it. Just hold down that button. It'll open doors. Do  _not_  lose it! You got that?" Rickston nodded, "Now go and open the next door. Go on! Go!"

"Alright!" Rickston turned and ran down the hall.

The Doctor reached down and picked up a First Aid kit, handing it to Evy, "I need you to look after them," he told her, "Keep them fighting fit and…"

"No," Evy said as the Doctor continued.

He spun around to face her again as she handed the kit off to Mr. Copper, "What?"

"I'm going with you Doctor," she stated firmly.

"No, you're not," he walked up to her, "I need you to stay here, stay safe…"

"While you go and run to face the danger?" she glared at him, "I've already told you Doctor, I'm going to look after you no matter what and that means I'm going with you."

"You're not coming with us?" Astrid looked between the two, a bit frightened.

The Doctor sighed, "There's something on Deck 31. I'm…"

" _We're_ ," Evy stressed.

The Doctor looked back over at her, about to say something, when he suddenly paused. The look on her face, it was a look he'd seen on many soldiers on the front lines of the Time War. She was determined like nothing else. She would go with him if she had to shackle herself to him. He sighed, "We're," he agreed, "Gonna find out what it is."

"Astrid," Evy turned to the woman, "Where's the power point?"

"Under the comms.," Astrid answered, nodding to the side.

Evy took her hand and ran over to the power point, she knelt down, pulling Astrid along and held the EMP up to it, showing her how to recharge it, "When it's ready, that blue light comes on there."

Astrid frowned, "What if you meet a Host?" she was very concerned for the lives of her two new friends.

"Well, then I'll…" the Doctor began.

"We'll," Evy corrected again.

"We'll," he amended, "Just...have some fun, eh?"

"Sounds like you do this kind of thing all the time," Astrid commented, standing.

" _All_  the time," Evy agreed.

"Not by choice," the Doctor defended, "All we do is travel. That's what I am, just a traveler. Imagine it. No tax, no bills, no boss, just the open sky."

"I'm sort of...unemployed now and I was thinking the blue box is kinda small, but I could kinda squeeze in," Astrid began, blushing and looking down.

"Like a  _stowaway_ ," Evy smiled.

"It's not always safe," the Doctor warned.

"You need someone to take care of you," she looked between them, but her gaze lingered on Evy. She'd seen something off about the girl from the first few moments she met them, there was something going on, something painful that she didn't want the Doctor to know. If she had another person around, she could help, "I've got no one back on Sto, no family, just me. So what do you think? Can I come with you?"

The Doctor paused a moment, considering it, before looking at Evy. The girl's smile just widened as she saw the Doctor giving her the chance to help him make the choice, as though there were one, "I'd like that."

The Doctor began to smile too and turned to Astrid, nodding, "Yes."

The ship lurched again, shaking the passengers.

"Mr. Frame, you still with us?" Evy called into the comm. beside her.

"It's the engines, ma'am," Frame responded, strained, "Final phase. There's nothing more I can do. We've got only eight minutes left!"

"Don't worry, I…" the Doctor began but cut off when Evy glared at him, " _We'll_  get there."

"The bridge is sealed off!"

"Yeah, yeah, working on it. We'll get there Mr. Frame, somehow."

The EMP lit up, "All charged up?" Evy looked down at it before nodding to herself.

"Mr. Copper, look after her," the Doctor ordered gently, "Astrid, look after him. Rickston, um...look after yourself."

"We'll see you again," Evy swore, crossing her hearts, "Promise."

They turned to leave when Astrid called out to them, "Wait!"

The Doctor turned to see Astrid running towards them, "We've really got to go."

"Just wait a minute!" Astrid shouted, before lunging at them and pulling them into a tight hug, "Be careful!"

Evy pulled away after a moment, smiling gently at the girl, "You as well."

The Doctor nodded, taking Evy's hand and pulling her down the hall. They ran around a corner and down another hall, ending up in another kitchen, only to come face-to-face with four robots. The Doctor looked around quickly before picking up a large pot to use for a weapon and pushing Evy behind him.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" he shouted.

"Security protocol one!" Evy called at the same time.

"Do you hear that?" he looked around, "One! One!" the robots stopped advancing, standing passively. He let out a breath of relief, putting down the pan, "Ok, that gives me three questions. Three questions to save my life, am I right?"

"Information: correct."

"Doctor!" Evy shouted at the waste of a question.

"No, that wasn't one of them," he defended, "I didn't mean it. That's not fair. Can I start again?"

"Information: no."

Suddenly there was a sharp pain on the back of his head. He flinched and turned around to see Evy, standing there, looking at her hand in shock, "Did you just…smack me?"

"Upside the head," Evy nodded, distracted, "Yeah."

"Why?" he frowned, completely confused.

"You were being an idiot," she answered, as though it were obvious.

"And you decided  _that_  was a good reason to smack me?"

"Apparently!"

He looked back to see that the robots were still standing there, seeming to have known his last two questions were not directed at them. He looked at Evy, deciding to leave that discussion for another time.

"One question left, one question," he spun around, running a hand through his hair before facing the robots, "So, you've been given orders to kill the survivors but survivors must therefore be passengers or staff, but not me.."

"Us," she corrected once again.

"Us," he amended, wincing, it would take a while before he could fully realize that he truly  _wasn't_  alone anymore…it just felt so strange, "We're not passengers. We're not staff. Go on, scan us. You must have bio-records. No such persons on board," the robots looked up as they finished their scans, "We don't exist therefore..."

"You can't kill us," Evy finished, "We're stowaways and stowaways should be arrested and…"

"Taken to the nearest figure of authority," he nodded, grinning a bit, it was actually quite fun to be able to bounce ideas off of someone else, someone who could actually keep up.

"And the nearest figure of authority must be on Deck 31," she grinned as well.

"Final question," he turned to the robots, "Are we right?"

"Information: correct."

"Brilliant," he laughed, "Take me to your leader," he looked over at Evy who just rolled her eyes at him, "I've always wanted to say that."

"I know," she replied as a robot took hold of their arms and led them out of the kitchens and down to Deck 31.

~8~

Astrid, Mr. Copper, and Rickston ran into the main lobby, to reception, Astrid using the EMP to take out the robots waiting there.

"Rickston, seal the doors, make the room secure," Astrid ordered, taking command, "Mr. Copper, keep an eye on the Host," she handed him the EMP before rushing over to the computer, "I need to check the computer. We need that SOS," she fiddled with the computer but it was down for now. She slammed her fist against it in frustration before turning to see the teleport bracelets stacked there. She ran for the comm. link, "Bridge, this is Reception!"

"Who's there?" Frame responded.

"Astrid Peth. I was with the Doctor and Evy. Tell me, can you divert power to the teleport system?"

"No way. I'm using everything I got to keep the engines running."

"It's just one trip. I need to get to Deck 31."

"And I'm telling you no."

"Mr. Frame..." Astrid took a breath, trying to control herself, "This is for the Doctor, for Evy. They've gone down there on their own, and I...I can't just leave them. They've done everything they can to save us. And…and Evy…" she dropped her voice just a bit, "She's hurt…I don't know by what, but she's in a lot of pain and…I'm worried she won't be able to make it. She needs help. Please, it's time we did something to help them, to help her."

There was silence for a moment before Frame came back online, "Giving you power."

~8~

The two Time Lords were pulled into the storage facility on Deck 31, more structural damage around them than they expected for the place having been so fortified on the scans of the ship, small fires had even begun to spring up.

"Now that is what you call a fixer-upper," the Doctor commented, looking around, "Come on then, Host with the most, this ultimate authority of yours, who is it?" just then two doors slid open as he and Evy spun around, "Ooh, that's clever. That's an omnistate impact chamber. Indestructible. You can survive anything in that, eh?"

A vehicle started to wheel out as Evy continued the Doctor's line of thought, "You could sit through a supernova or a shipwreck. But only one person could have the power and the money to hide themselves onboard like this and we should know, because..."

"My name...is Max," the head of Max Capricorn said, coming in full view to show them his head attached to a life support system. He smiled, his gold tooth glinting.

"It  _really_  does that?" Evy asked, her eyes just slightly wide at how comical and ridiculous that was.

"Who the hell are they?" Max spat, seeing the two standing there.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor grinned, "And this is Evy. Hello."

"Information: stowaways," a robot added.

"Kill them," Max ordered.

The Doctor's eyes widened and flashed to Evy before he tried to step towards Max only to be held back by the robots, "Oh, no, no! Wait, but you can't. Not now. Come on, Max...you've given me so much good material like...how to get ahead in business!" he looked around but no one looked very impressed, Evy was just staring at him as though he'd gone insane, "See 'head?' 'Head in business?'" he tried, looking at Evy, "No?"

"No," she shook her head, "Don't…just don't."

He pouted a bit.

"Oh, ho ho, the office joker," Max said after a moment, "I like a funny man. No one's been funny with me for years."

"I wonder why?" Evy replied a bit sarcastically.

"176 years of running the company have taken their toll."

"Yeah, but...nice wheels," the Doctor grinned.

"No, a life-support system in a society that despises cyborgs. I've had to hide away for years. Running the company by hologram. Host, situation report."

"Information:  _Titanic_  is still in orbit," the only robot not holding one of them back replied.

"Let me see," Max wheeled himself forward, the Doctor managing to pull himself from the grip of the robots to go stand next to the man by the edge, staring down at the engines, "We should have crashed by now. What's gone wrong?" Max looked down to see the engines still burning, "The engines are still running! They should have stopped!"

"When they do, the Earth will be destroyed," Evy called back, struggling a bit in the robot's grasp. The prolonged regenerative pains were taking their toll on her. She was exhausted, physically, emotionally, but she could also feel the regenerative afterglow fading within her, being burned up by her body…a severe alternative to allowing it to just disperse into the Universe but she would bear it.

"I don't understand," the Doctor shook his head, "What's the Earth got to do with it?"

"This interview is terminated," Max wheeled away.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor called, rushing in front of them, his back to Evy.

Evy let out a bit of a groan, hunching over in the robot's grip as a pain hit her. She scrunched her eyes shut, willing the pain to go away before the Doctor could see her…unbeknownst to her, another set of eyes  _had_  seen her plight.

Astrid crept around a corner and peeked through, her eyes widening as she saw the Doctor talking to a cyborg while Evy seemed in a great deal of pain.

"Hold on!" the Doctor shouted, holding out a hand to stop Max, "Hold on! Hold on! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! I can work it out. It's like a task. I'm your apprentice. Just watch me. So...business is failing and you wreck the ship so that makes things even worse. Oh yes! No. Yes. The business isn't failing…"

"It's  _failed_ ," Evy said, straightening up, though there was a small layer of sweat on her brow, "Past tense."

The Doctor looked back at her and nodded, just as he suspected.

"My own board voted me out," Max grumbled, "Stabbed me in the back."

"If you had a back," he commented, "So...you scupper the ship, wipe out any survivors in case anyone's rumbled you and the board find their shares halved in value. Oh, but that's not enough. No, 'cos if a Max Capricorn ship hits the Earth, it destroys an entire planet. Outrage back home. Scandal! The business is wiped out."

"And...the whole board thrown in jail for mass murder."

"While you sit there, safe inside that impact chamber," Evy finished.

"I have men waiting to retrieve me from the ruins and enough off-world accounts to retire me to the beaches of Pentaxico Two where the ladies, so I'm told, are very fond of...metal," Max leered, catching sight of Evy, "But perhaps, I should take a companion with me, it should be quite a long wait till they dig through the rubble."

Unconsciously, the Doctor's eyes narrowed and he stepped in front of Evy, blocking the cyborg's view of her, "So that's the plan," he half spat, indignant not only at his lack of respect for human life, but for his intentions with Evy, "A retirement plan. 2,000 on this ship, 6 billion underneath us, all of them slaughtered. And why? Because Max Capricorn is a loser."

"I never lose."

"You can't even sink the  _Titanic_ ," the Doctor retorted, a bit smug.

"Oh, but I can, Doctor. I can cancel the engines from here."

Suddenly alarms began to sound.

"You can't do this!" Evy shouted, staring at the man in horror, 6 billion people were about to burn because of one man's inferiority complex.

The Doctor, seeming to be of the same mind, tried to lunge at the cyborg, "Host, hold him," Max ordered.

Two robots stepped forward and grabbed him by the arms, pulling him back to stand by Evy, still struggling in her robot's grip.

"Not so clever now, Doctor," Max laughed, "A shame we couldn't work together. You're rather good…" his gaze turned to Evy, "Rather smart…" the girl had the feeling he wasn't talking about her brains at all, "All that banter yet not a word wasted. Time for me to retire. The  _Titanic_  is falling. The sky will burn. Let the Christmas inferno commence. Oh! Oh, Host! Kill them."

The one robot not holding them stepped forward, removing its halo as it moved to stand in front of the Doctor, preparing to strike.

"Mr. Capricorn!" someone shouted. They all looked over to see Astrid sitting in a forklift, "I resign."

She started the forklift and rushed at the cyborg.

"Astrid don't!" Evy shouted, seeing what the woman was planning to do.

Astrid managed to get the front of the forklift under Max's life-support unit and continued to ram him, trying to push him back but having no luck. The robot turned away from the Doctor and moved to throw its halo at Astrid, just barely missing her and hitting the frame of the forklift.

"He's cut the break line!" the Doctor shouted, his eyes wide in horror, Astrid wouldn't be able to stop now.

Astrid looked over at the Doctor and then to Evy, an understanding passing between the three of them.

"No!" he yelled as Astrid turned back and raised the lift higher, lifting Max off the ground enough where he lost traction. She stepped on the gas, driving Max back until they both fell over the edge.

"Astrid!" Evy called, breaking from her robot and running to the edge, kneeling down and looking over as the Doctor did the same.

They watched in horror as she fell towards the engines, all the while reaching up towards them.

The Doctor looked over at Evy who was staring down the ledge in shock, shaking like a leaf. He reached out, putting an arm around her. It took her a moment to associate the hug with the Doctor before she turned and buried her face in his chest as she returned the hug.

She didn't have long to take comfort in the Doctor's embrace as the ship jolted terribly, reminding them that there was still the failing engines to deal with, "You alright?" he asked, pulling away but his hands were on her cheeks, forcing her to look up at him. She nodded, standing up with him as he turned and led them back towards the containment area Max had built for himself where the robots were now waiting.

He hesitated, eyeing them warily, but the main robot put its halo back on its head and turned to face them, waiting.

"Their programming," Evy said, her voice a bit hoarse, "Highest authority gone, moves onto the second in command…" she glanced up at the Doctor, trying to smile, "I think that's you."

"Oh," the Doctor's eyes widened as he looked at the robots, "Isn't that wizard?"

He stepped forward, holding out his arms at his sides, the robots stepping forward to stand on either side of him, taking his arms in their own. He looked over at Evy and nodded. She stepped forward as well, putting her arms around his neck and hugging herself to him as he wrapped his arms around her. He lifted a hand, snapping his fingers before returning to the hold as the robots began to fly up. They gained speed and held an arm up, crashing straight through a floor and into the main control room of the bridge.

"Deadlock broken," the computer stated.

"Ah, Midshipman Frame at last!" the Doctor called as he and Evy climbed up from the hole in the floor to greet him.

"Uh, but…but the Host!" his eyes widened, seeing the robots sitting there.

"Controller dead they divert to the next highest authority and that's me," the Doctor grinned, Evy elbowed him lightly in his side.

"There's nothing we can do. There's no power. The ship's gonna fall."

" _Titanic_  falling," the computer repeated him.

"Yes, thank you," Evy glared up at the computer before stepping past the men and going to the far control panel, checking on the power and damage.

The ship jolted as the Doctor ran to the main wheel, "What's your first name?" he looked over at Frame.

"Alonzo," he replied.

"You're joking!" Evy turned to look at the man in shock as the Doctor turned in surprise and, at the same time as Evy, said, "You're kidding me."

"What?" he looked between the two of them, confused.

"There's something else I've always wanted to say," the Doctor breathed before grinning, "Allons-y Alonzo! Whoa!"

He spun the wheel as the ship lurched dramatically, falling straight towards the Earth's atmosphere. Frame screamed as the Doctor fought to control the wheel. An alarm sounded and the Doctor reached out a foot to try and check it, but Evy had beaten him to it, punching the button for the computer to show the impact zone to be London.

"Oh come on!" Evy shouted, before grabbing the comm. link and dialing out, "Hello, yes...could you get me Buckingham Palace please?" there was some sort of commotion on the other end as Evy held the phone away from her a moment before putting it back to her ear, "No, you listen to me! My name's Evy, I'm travelling with the Doctor, look you've got to institute Security Code 771! Get out of there!"

And then, to the confusion of Frame, Evy disappeared beneath the control panel as he and the Doctor stared out the window at the Earth growing larger at an alarming rate.

Moments later something happened.

"Now!" Evy shouted from beneath the panel. And suddenly the panels began to light up and there was a loud rumbling from the middle of the ship.

"Engine active," the computer announced, "Engine active."

The Doctor pulled the wheel back, sending Frame flying back against the wall while Evy grabbed onto the control panel. They watched as the ship barely managed to miss Buckingham Palace, sailing right over the top of it. The Doctor gasped, unable to believe his luck as he looked down at Evy who just smiled in relief.

Then a bell began to ring. They looked back to see Frame ringing the ship's bell, "Whoo-hoo!"

The Doctor and Evy laughed, "Whoo-hoo-hoo!" the Doctor joined in.

Evy rolled her eyes and walked over to Frame, putting a hand on his shoulder and leading him to sit against the wall, it was only too clear to her that, despite his relief, he was still injured. The Doctor continued to get the ship heading back to the safety of space while Evy examined the man's wound.

~8~

"Nothing too bad Mr. Frame," Evy told the man, pulling his shirt back down, after wrapping the wound with some cloth torn from her dress, "The shot passed straight through, didn't hit an artery or any organs either, very lucky. It'll be a bit painful till you can get it stitched up, but you'll be just fine."

She smiled and patted Frame on the shoulder, moving to sit next to him as the Doctor joined them.

He looked straight at Evy as she looked away, but his gaze lingered until she rolled her eyes, "All I did was reconnect the steering so that you'd be able to pull up. It was disconnected during the initial hit. You could turn the ship well enough but that was about it."

He nodded, he'd been wondering why none of his attempts at pulling the ship out of its dive had been working till the last moment. He turned to Frame, "Used the heat of re-entry to fire up the secondary storm drive," the Doctor told him, "Unsinkable, that's me."

Evy laughed, it certainly was.

"We made it," Frame smiled, resting against the wall.

"Not all of us," Evy replied, her smile fading as she looked down at her hands.

"Teleport!" the Doctor said suddenly, jumping up, "She was wearing a teleport bracelet!"

He ran out of the room before Evy could even get to her feet and follow. She helped Frame up and the two ran after him, following him into the main reception room where Mr. Copper and Rickston were still waiting.

"Rickston!" the Doctor called, "Sonic!" Rickston tossed him the screwdriver as he ran by, "Mr. Copper, the teleports, have they got emergency settings?"

"I don't know," Mr. Copper said as he and Evy joined the Doctor by the teleport controllers, "They should have."

"She fell, Mr. Copper," he grinned, getting the computer working, "She fell. What's the emergency code?"

"Uh, let me see…" Mr. Copper walked around to the computer and typed in the code.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rickston frowned, watching them.

"He might be able to bring her back," Evy said quietly, watching as the Doctor began to work on the teleport.

"If a passenger has an accident on shore leave and they're still wearing their teleport, their molecules are automatically suspended and held in stasis so that we can just trigger the shift," Mr. Copper explained.

"There!" the Doctor shouted, finishing. He turned around and a glowing, but transparent, Astrid appeared a few feet away.

"I'm falling," Astrid echoed.

"Only halfway there," the Doctor commented, moving to adjust the inner workings of the teleport, "Come on."

"I keep falling…"

"Feed back the molecule grid, boost it with the restoration matrix…"

"No!" Evy shouted, just before the teleport sparked.

"No, no, no, no!" he backed away before rushing towards it again, trying to work the wires manually, "Need more phase containment."

"Doctor…" Mr. Copper stepped forward.

"No! If I can just link up the surface suspension..."

"Doctor, she's gone."

"I just need to override the safety. I can do it."

"Doctor, let her go," Mr. Copper laid a hand on his shoulder.

The Doctor turned around to face Astrid's ghost-like figure, kicking the teleport in frustration, "I can do anything!"

Evy stepped forward, putting her hands on his face, and just looking into his eyes. The group watched silently as the Doctor physically calmed at the woman's touch. He reached up, wrapping his hands around Evy's wrists, but making no move to remove her. He looked into her eyes as well, seeing her own sorrow reflected in her tear filled eyes, "You  _can_  do anything," she whispered to him, "But not alone."

And with that, she stepped past him and knelt down at the base of the teleport controls and got to work.

The men watched her silently as she pulled out various wires, held them up to examine them, frowning at some but holding onto others. She sniffled, wiping her eye a bit with the back of her hand before getting back to work.

"There's not enough left," Mr. Copper told her gently, "The system was too badly damaged. She's just atoms. An echo with the ghost of consciousness. She's stardust," but Evy continued, "It's impossible..."

"I know and it  _should_  be," Evy replied, leaning forward to tweak a few wires, "But there…clinging to the wire work, just enough power to bind the atoms and download the consciousness back to the body…I just have to…Doctor!" she called, twisting around and holding out her hand. He quickly tossed her the sonic, "Just a bit more power…and…" she flashed the screwdriver and Astrid exploded in a bright light. Everyone covered their eyes for a moment till the light faded.

They looked over to see Astrid standing there, flesh and blood, as solid as the rest of them.

"I'm back!" Astrid shouted, looking at her hands for only a second before running across the room and lunging at Evy, pulling the girl into a hug just as she stood up, nearly knocking the Time Lady off her feet, "Thank you!" Astrid pulled back only a moment before hugging her again.

The men looked on in shock at seeing Astrid whole again.

"How?" Mr. Copper gaped. It  _should_  have been impossible.

"She's just brilliant," the Doctor breathed, staring at Evy with a fond, proud smile.

~8~

Frame walked over to them, all sitting around Astrid and talking about her ordeal, "The engines have stabilized," he told them, "We're holding steady till we get help and I've sent the SOS. A rescue ship should be here within twenty minutes. And they're digging out the records of Max Capricorn. It should be quite a story."

"They'll want to talk to all of us, I suppose," Mr. Copper frowned.

"I'd have thought so, yeah."

Mr. Copper sighed and stood up, wandering over to the reception desk and leaning against it. Evy and the Doctor shared a look before getting up to join him along with Astrid.

"I think, uh, one or two inconvenient truths might come to light," Mr. Copper mumbled as they approached him, "Still, it's my own fault, and then years in jail is better than dying."

"Doctor...uh, Miss Evy," Rickston said, coming over to them, "I never said...thank you," he reached out and hugged Evy and the Doctor to him tightly, "The funny thing is...I said Max Capricorn was falling apart. Just before the crash, I...sold all my shares, transferred them to his rivals. It's made me rich. What do you think of that?"

He smiled at them, staring at them as though he expected an answer.

Evy stepped up, "I think…" and then she slapped him, " _That's_  what I think!" she glared at him.

Rickston stared at her in shock, along with Mr. Copper and the Doctor, Astrid just looked on with a proud smile.

Before Rickston could respond his vone suddenly rang, "Salvain?" he answered it quickly and walked off, still mildly stunned, "Those shares, I want them triple-bonded and locked."

"Finally!" Astrid laughed, "Someone gave him what he deserved."

"Oh no," Evy shook her head, "A swift kick in the arse is what he deserved."

Astrid laughed and linked arms with Evy.

"Of all the people to survive, he's not the one you would have chosen, is he?" Mr. Copper asked in general as they watched Rickston walk away, "But if you could choose, if you decide who lives and who dies..." he shrugged, "…that would make you a monster."

Evy nodded slowly, "No one is meant to have that power."

The Doctor looked over at Evy and smiled, that was one of the main teachings of Gallifrey. He was about to say something when the teleport bracelets caught his eye, "Mr. Copper..." he reached out and plucked four bracelets up, handing one to Evy and Astrid before giving one to Mr. Copper, "I think you deserve one of these."

Mr. Copper looked up, startled, seeing the smiling faces of Astrid, the Doctor, and Evy looking back at him. He quickly took the bracelet and slid it on, chuckling as the Doctor started the machine. Just before they disappeared Frame stepped up to them, saluting them, all of them saluting back before they appeared in a random field in London, the TARDIS waiting there as snow fell around them.

Astrid laughed to be back on the exotic planet Earth. Evy took her arm and they ran across the land and over to the blue box, waiting impatiently for the Doctor to catch up with Mr. Copper.

"So, Great Britain is part of, uh, 'Europee' and just across the British Channel you've got Great France and Great Germany," Mr. Copper recited some odd bit of information the Doctor had been trying to tell him on the ship.

"No, no, it's just," the Doctor sighed, "It's just France and Germany."

"Only Britain is great," Evy grinned, calling over to them.

"Oh, and they're all at war with the continent of Ham-erica?" Mr. Copper frowned.

"No, well...not yet, uh...could argue that one," the Doctor frowned but his entire countenance brightened as he finally arrived at the TARDIS, "There she is," he patted her, receiving a small shock from her as an angry retort, it seemed the box was not at all happy about being sent adrift and then stuck on Earth without her pilot, "Survive anything…" he commented, a bit put out at the TARDIS's treatment of him.

"You know, between you and me, I don't even think this snow is real," Mr. Copper told them, "I think this is the ballast from the  _Titanic_ 's salvage entering the atmosphere."

"One day it might snow for real," Evy commented, looking up.

"So, I…I suppose you'll be off…" Mr. Copper looked up at the three of them.

"The open sky," the Doctor nodded.

"Actually…" Astrid spoke up, stepping away from Evy and over to Mr. Copper's side, "I…I think I might like to stay with Mr. Copper, if that's alright," she looked at Mr. Copper and then the duo.

"What?" the Doctor frowned.

"Well, it's just," Astrid flushed a bit, "Don't really got any family and…well, neither does he," she smiled gently at Mr. Copper, "I just…I wouldn't feel right leaving him alone, especially on a strange new world."

The Doctor looked at a loss for words but Evy was grinning broadly. She had seen the almost familial bond that had just begun to form between Astrid and Mr. Copper, "Astrid Peth," she stepped forward and hugged the woman tightly, "You are simply brilliant."

Astrid smiled and hugged Evy back.

"What should we do?" Mr. Copper asked Astrid as Evy stepped back.

"Give me that credit card a moment," the Doctor reached out.

"Well, it's just petty cash, spending money," Mr. Copper said, handing it over, "It's all done by computer. I…I didn't really know the currency so I thought a million might cover it."

"A million?" Evy almost choked.

"Pounds?" the Doctor wanted to clarify.

"That enough for trinkets?" Mr. Copper asked.

"Mr. Copper, a million pounds is worth 50 million credits."

"How much?" Astrid's gaped as Mr. Copper's mouth dropped open.

"50 million and 56," Evy calculated quickly.

"I…I've got money!" Mr. Copper gasped.

"Yes, you have," the Doctor smiled, handing him the card back.

"Oh my word," Mr. Copper uttered, still in shock, "Oh my Vot! Oh my goodness me! I…ya-ha!" he reached out and grabbed Astrid in a hug, both of them actually jumping in joy.

"It's all yours…planet Earth," Evy smiled.

"Now  _that's_  a retirement plan," the Doctor laughed, "But just you be careful though."

"I will," he promised quickly as Astrid nodded, "I will. Oh, we will."

"No interfering," the Doctor warned just to be safe, "I don't want any trouble. Just...just have a nice life."

"But we can have a house," he looked up at Astrid, tears in his eyes, "A proper house, with a garden, and…and a door, and...oh, Doctor, Miss Evy, I will made you proud," he ran forward and hugged them both, "And…and a kitchen with chairs, and windows, and lace..." he began to skip off with Astrid, laughing the whole time.

"Um, where are you going?" the Doctor called as he turned to unlock the TARDIS.

"Why, I have no idea!" Mr. Copper called back.

"No, me neither," the Doctor agreed, holding the door open for Evy who hesitated a moment.

"Just a moment," she said, running after Astrid and Mr. Copper, "Mr. Copper!" she shouted, stopping him. He turned around with Astrid. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card with the Torchwood contacts on it, "If anything happens, if you get in trouble, or you need help, with anything at all, just give this number a call. Tell them that Evy gave it to you and they'll be all too willing to help you get up and about, help teach you about Earth yeah?"

Mr. Copper took the card and looked at her with thanks in his eyes, both he and Astrid knowing that they wouldn't be alone, that they wouldn't be stuck trying to figure everything out by themselves.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Copper," Evy breathed, "Astrid," she gave them a wave before rushing back to the TARDIS and walking in, the Doctor shutting the door behind her. She looked around, happy to see that the TARDIS was alright.

She turned to the Doctor to see him look away from her quickly and step past her, throwing his jacket onto a Y-beam on his way, "Well, long day, full of emotional turmoil and cyborgs," he spun to face her, smiling, but one that didn't reach his ears, "What say we head off to bed. Good night!"

And with that, he spun around and walked up to the gantry, through the door to the hallway beyond. Evy stood there, watching him go, never looking back at her for a moment. She could feel her hearts break. That was it? That was all he said?

She looked down, tears in her eyes.

He was angry. He  _had_  to be. She hadn't been able to hear him the whole time which was doing her head in. She felt like she was being crushed, physically crushed from the sheer silence in her mind. At least when he'd been human it hadn't been a conscious act of his to ignore her…and even then, it hadn't been right after she regenerated. She was exhausted. She was tired. She was sad and frustrated and hurt and…scared. Had she really upset him so badly that he wouldn't even acknowledge her in his mind? She could understand if he wanted to hide some thoughts from her, even when she'd been privy to all his thoughts through the Link she hadn't dug too deep, respecting his privacy as much as she could. But to hide  _all_  his thoughts...

She let out a shuddering breath as a tear fell from her eye. She thought she'd done enough during the entire ordeal to try and make up for keeping her secret from him. She'd figured things out, helped save the day, brought back Astrid…but still, nothing was good enough…and then she realized. She was in the  _TARDIS_ , his pride and joy…she looked around quickly, seeing dozens if not hundreds of things she could fix or tinker with and improve.

Yes, that would make what she'd done up to him. She pulled off her gloves as she ran to one of the panels and got to work.

~8~

The Doctor had been sleeping peacefully in his bed, something he didn't do very often. Not that it was bad. It was just, Time Lord biology allowed for them to remain awake and fully alert for nearly two weeks, needing only about 12-18 hours of sleep after to renew themselves. He'd been awake for a little more than a week, but all the excitement and stress of the last few adventures had tired him out more than he thought. He'd been asleep probably around 10 hours when he was suddenly flung from his bed and onto the floor.

He sat up quickly, looking around as though expecting an attack of some sort, relaxing back against the side of his bed when he saw he was just in his room.

"What was that?" he wondered aloud, already getting to his feet to go check on the TARDIS.

He headed out of the room and down the hall, straight to the control room, only to see it practically torn apart. It seemed like someone had either tried to destroy the TARDIS from the inside or had been frantically looking for something and not found it. He ran down the steps as sparks flew over head. He jumped back, stepping on a random tool with his bare feet. He looked around, seeing tools were scattered everywhere, wires were sticking out of everything, and panel doors were thrown haphazardly around the floor.

He looked around, trying to find the source of the destruction only to hear a soft mumbling from behind the console. He cautiously walked around it, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Evy kneeling at the base of the console, half leaning in an open panel working on something. He couldn't even begin to understand what she was mumbling as her words barely made any sense.

Her hands were shaking. He could see that as she tried to twist two wires together. It sparked a bit and she jumped away. She looked around the floor around her, a franticness in her actions, before she reached for a cutting tool, only succeeding in slicing her palm open. She pulled back, hissing in pain and curled up against the console, clutching her hand to her chest as she rocked back and forth.

"Evy!" the Doctor called in shock, rushing to kneel before her. He'd  _never_  seen her in such a state before. There were smudges of grease on her face, her dress was stained and torn, even burnt in a few places, the once elegant curls of her hair now a wild mess of tangles. He reached forward, taking her head in his hands but he couldn't make eye contact with her for more than a second as her eyes flitted around the room rapidly. He reached forward, trying to pull her away from the console, only to have her twist out of his grip.

"No!" she shouted, turning to try and get back to the panel she'd been working on, "I have to fix it!" she reached out, grabbing the wires despite her hand, now smearing her blood over everything, "I have to fix it, he won't be angry anymore...if I just..."

He shook his head, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her waist, heaving as he pulled her back and half dragged her, kicking and screaming, towards the med-bay. Something was seriously  _wrong_.

He managed to get her onto an examination table but she was far too frantic, struggling to get out of his grip as he tried to hold her down. He looked around quickly, finally seeing a sedative gun a few inches away. He reached out and grabbed it, moving to sedate her but her screams intensified.

"No!" she shrieked, "Please no! Not again! Please! Please! No!"

He hesitated only a moment at the sounds of her pleas, she was far more frightened of the sedative gun than anything else. But he caught sight of her hand, it had to be done. He pushed her down and pressed the gun to her neck, injecting her with the formula specified for Time Lords. Moments later she was completely out.

He slumped back against a chair next to the table, breathing hard from exertion, completely shocked at seeing her in such a state. What on Earth had gotten her that riled up? He reached forward, brushing a hair away from her face and tried desperately to read her mind…but it was no use. She was unconscious, her mind wasn't active, and so there was nothing to read on the surface of her mind. Had he been Linked to her, he would have a continuous connection not only to her but to her mind and her feelings as well. He'd be able to enter her mind even if she were asleep, but not now.

He sighed, getting up and moving to clean the cut on her hand, spraying it with a healing solution and wrapping it in a bandage. It was a rather clean cut, it would heal quickly with help from the TARDIS.

She would be unconscious for at least two hours, he could have gone back into the console room and tried to fix whatever Evy had done, or at least straightened up, but he just…couldn't bring himself to leave her side.

Why had this happened?

A small monitor he'd hooked up to scan her beeped and he looked over, his eyes widening at the results. She was exhausted, completely drained and apparently there were remnants of regenerative energy being filtered through her system. She'd been containing the energies within her the whole time, he realized. Containing post regeneration energy was painful, often taxing the body more than the actual regeneration.

Regeneration usually required sleep of some sort for a period of at least six hours or more…Evy hadn't had any. The regeneration would usually leave the Time Lord with the equivalent of two weeks awake, but to hold the energies in afterwards could elongate that time to almost four weeks of sleep deprivation. If Evy had done that, the exhaustion and strain would make her mind less up to par than normal, it wouldn't be functioning properly. She would be more susceptible to her emotions…and he could already tell that this version of her was more emotional than her last.

But how hadn't he noticed that?

He should have sensed it! He should have heard her…and he realized, she'd been hiding her thoughts about it. Like when her mind had gone from one topic to counting the glass shards Astrid had dropped. She'd been hiding...

He stiffened, a thought hitting him and he quickly examined his mental shields only to find that they had been up at full strength…he hadn't even  _noticed_. He'd shot them up when he realized Evy was a Time Lady, simply for the fact that she had been able to read his thoughts all that time, he hadn't felt the need to block his thoughts from his people when he'd thought they were gone, but he could have sworn he'd lowered them when he found out she was his Link…but if Evy's reaction was anything to go on…he had not. It was easy to forget the shields were up once they were up, but that was no excuse! Having her Link block his thoughts so soon after regenerating would not help the situation.

He quickly dropped his mental shields, not wanting the same thing to happen. He never wanted her to be in this much pain because of him, he wouldn't want anyone to be so pained.

He supposed his actions towards her the entire night hadn't helped. There had been so many times he'd caught himself staring at her now that he could finally notice her, or watching her work, or just holding her to him that he'd force himself to pull away, to focus on anything else. They were in the midst of a life threatening scenario, other people could have died and he was staring at her when he should have been helping them. There had been times, when she had done something amazing, like fixing comm. with the bridge or figuring out how to save the engines where he couldn't help but be angry and disappointed with himself for not thinking of it, but amazed with her for doing so. He realized now, she had no idea what he was thinking when he did so, she probably felt he was rejecting her or angry with her instead. He should have just…he should have treated her better.

This regeneration, it seemed, was more sensitive to him. Not having him in her mind after centuries of being there must have caused a terrible shock and backlash, especially coupled with the death of her brother, the trauma of the Year-That-Never-Was, and her regeneration.

And then there was the sedative. What was  _that_  about?

He frowned in concern, turning his attention on Evy, stroking her hair as she continued to sleep.

~8~

Two hours later to the second, Evy's eyes fluttered open. He leaned over to see she seemed confused, but much calmer than she had been, "Doctor?" she frowned, seeing she was in the med-bay, "Why am I here?"

"You were a bit frantic before," he told her, helping her to sit up, "I had to get you in here to rest."

He helped her stand, conscious of the exhaustion she would be facing now that the regeneration pains were over. He tightened his grip on her waist as she stumbled, nearly falling after she stood. He slowly led her out of the med-bay and into the halls.

"Oh no!" she gasped, remembering the mess she'd made in the control room as they passed the door to it, "I'm sorry!" she pushed herself out of his arms and moved towards it but he pulled her back into his arms.

"I've already checked the TARDIS," he reassured her, pulling her on, "Nothing seriously needs to be fixed, you didn't break her. I'll clean it later…right now though, you need to sleep off the regeneration."

He led her down a hall and towards her room, it was a small, light blue colored room with a small bed with a dark blue duvet. There was a small bookcase and a little desk, but the rest was sparse. He brought her over to the bed and sat her down, kneeling down to look up at her, "Evy…" he hesitated, seeing the strain still in her eyes, "Before…I had to sedate you…you didn't react very well to the sight of the sedation gun…I just was wondering…"

"Please don't ask," she cut him off, her voice shaking, "Please. I'd rather not tell you, it's…it's not something I'd even want you to know if we Linked."

He blinked. Whatever it was that happened to her, it had to have been truly bad for her to not want him to know. But he wasn't going to push, not now. Not after what had just happened. He nodded, getting up and stepping out of the room to allow her privacy to sleep.

He stepped into the control room and began to clean up, not very tired anymore.

~8~

It hadn't taken all that long to get things sorted, perhaps four or five hours at most. He was actually feeling a bit worn out now, still a bit off from being woken so abruptly and being so thrown by Evy's breakdown. Speaking of which…he wandered down the corridor, pausing by Evy's door.

He opened it slowly, careful to not let the light from the hall into the room should he wake her. He peeked in to see her lying on her side on the bed, now dressed in a pair of blue and black flannel pajama bottoms and a blue tank top. Her back was to the door, but she seemed to be having a bit of trouble in her sleep. She was shifting, he could sense she was asleep as he wasn't hearing her thoughts, but she seemed to be almost in the middle of a nightmare.

He frowned, wanting to help her…

Before he even realized what he was doing, he found himself setting himself down on the edge of her bed, and lying down beside her, his chest to her back. He reached out, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her towards him gently, just holding her to him. The reaction was almost instant as her body relaxed and her breathing evened out. He had only enough time to form a small smile before he too fell asleep to the gentle sound of Evy's soft breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...Evy's very set on the limits of Time Lord authority isn't she? I wonder what will happen when they go to Mars? And I so wanted someone to slap Rickston for how he was so happy to be rich while so many had died, I thought Evy should have that honor. She's now got no problem smacking the Doctor so she'd definitely have no issues with slapping other people. I felt so bad writing Evy like that at the end, but I figure she's been through so much, it had to catch up with her eventually.
> 
> Just a note on Evy's power, her telekenesis, puts a serious strain on her mind whenever she uses it. I've read somewhere that sometimes a severe strain to the mind can cause nosebleeds, I think this can happen with things like brain tumors and such. For Evy she strains her mind so much that her body is strained as well and her nose starts to bleed because of it, like a sign/warning that she should stop. Her nose bled a bit during LOTTL because she used her powers to fling the Master's laser screwdriver away when he turned it on Martha and her family on the Valiant. In that chapter it wasn't the Doctor who did it, but Evy :)
> 
> Next chapter we finally get Donna! Yay! And...Evy gets a rather useful gift from the Doctor and the TARDIS.


	4. Partners in Crime (Part 1)

Evy awoke with a soft inhale of breath, her eyes fluttering open to see the wall behind her bed. She blinked a few times, her mind catching up to her, when she realized something. She was currently lying on top of her blankets, yet she was very warm. She also realized something very important, there was a pair of arms wrapped around her and she could feel someone lying behind her.

It was the Doctor, it had to be, she could just sense it. But why? She could recall the events that had led up to her being in bed clearly, but she was certain that, when she had gotten to sleep, the Doctor had been nowhere near her.

She felt the arms around her tighten just a moment before loosening, the body against her back moving away. She turned gently in the one arm still wrapped around her waist to come face-to-face with the Doctor now lying on his back. He was holding her close in his one arm as her bed wasn't meant for two people, he didn't want her to fall off.

"Doctor?" she frowned in confusion, though she felt rather happy to wake up in his arms and immensely relieved to hear the buzz of his mind flittering in her own, he'd lowered his mental shields, she could hear him again.

He just smiled at her, glad to see that she looked far more refreshed than she had in the last 24 hours. The strain of the regeneration seemed to have passed and she was back to her good old self. She'd slept nearly 20 hours straight, he'd been awake the last five but hadn't wanted to move for fear of waking her. He'd laid there just thinking, about everything that had happened, about the shock of finding a Time Lady, and not just a Time Lady but his Link. He'd gone over everything she had told him about her reasons for not letting him Link to her and come to terms with them, she really did have his best interests at heart.

One thing was certain, she was truly a remarkable person. She was every bit the Time Lord he was, thinking to the future, seeing the consequences, being logical and reasonable about it all. And more importantly, caring.

"Feel better?" he asked.

She nodded, "Much. Thanks."

His smile widened as he slowly sat up on the bed, helping Evy sit up as well. She knelt on the bed, stretching out as he stood up, "I was thinking we could take a nice calm trip to Earth?" he asked, his eyes glancing around the room as Evy stretched, her shirt rising to reveal a bit of the skin of her stomach.

"And by 'a nice calm trip' you mean…" she trailed, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Just as it sounds. Just walk around, look at the nice buildings that weren't destroyed by a  _Titanic_  induced nuclear explosion."

"Oh, going to admire our handiwork are we?" she laughed, already feeling much better, "I'll be out in a bit."

He nodded, walking out of her room to give her time to freshen up. He went to the control room, punching in some coordinates onto the console for London in preparation.

~8~

They were walking down a rather crowded street, Evy's arm tucked around the Doctor's, as they just watched life go on around them. Humans, they really were the most fascinating, awe-inspiring species out there.

Evy smiled gently as she watched a mother and child cross the street just at the end of their corner where a rather large building stood. She frowned when a faint beeping caught her attention. She slowed to a stop, reaching into the pocket of her coat and pulling out a Y-shaped device that was flashing red.

"Is that a Planetary Peculiarity Sensor?" the Doctor's eyes widened, seeing the small device. He reached out and began to examine it, poking it in various places as though he could inspect it that way.

Evy nodded, "I made it just after the incident with the Daleks and pig men. I thought it was better to be prepared and know something that wasn't supposed to be on Earth was here rather than find out later."

"That's amazing!" he grinned at her before excitedly spinning in a circle, the beeping growing louder as it faced the direction of a building, Adipose Industries.

"Doctor?" Evy asked. He looked down at her as she nodded at the building, despite having regenerated taller than she was she was still shorter than him. He nodded back at her before walking towards it. But, of course, when travelling with the Doctor one had to go the inconspicuous route, which was why they found themselves walking in through the back entrance, coming to a fire exit.

He looked around for a moment before pulling out the sonic screwdriver and flashing the door. Sparks shot out on the other side as the door opened.

"I really do need to get myself a sonic screwdriver," Evy remarked as they stepped into the corridor beyond.

He shot her a grin, "I've already asked the TARDIS to make one for you."

"Really?" her eyes widened in excitement.

She hadn't had a sonic device in what felt like forever, she was tempted to grab the Doctor and race back to the TARDIS, but she knew that it would take a bit longer before it was ready. It had to be custom created based on her essence as a Time Lady, tuned in to her in order to be able to maintain a psychic connection and operate efficiently. The Doctor must have collected her DNA from the blood she had left covering one of the panels before. She'd apologized profusely for that, but both the Doctor, and seemingly even the TARDIS, had waved her off.

It had led to a very interesting one-sided argument between the Doctor and the TARDIS when he realized the box seemed to have forgiven Evy for nearly destroying her and still favored her above the Doctor when, in his opinion, he hadn't done anything that bad to it to begin with.

The TARDIS was now ignoring the Doctor completely, which was why Evy had had to pilot and land the box for this trip.

Evy nudged him as a security guard strolled down the hallway towards them, "John Smith and Evelyn Daniels," he stated, holding up the psychic paper, "Health and Safety."

The guard nodded at them and they walked on by. They entered the main part of Adipose Industries only to find out that a conference was going on in a lecture hall about exactly what Adipose Industries was trying to market, what luck.

They managed to find the lecture hall fairly quickly, opting instead to head up to the projection room where the presentation was stored just as a precaution. If they were dealing with an alien race, it was best to not alert them to the fact that there was another alien race there as well.

They didn't have to wait long after sneaking in before a woman with short blond hair and rather intimidating stature walked into the room, black square glasses on her face.

"Adipose Industries," the woman began, "The 21st century way to lose weight. No exercise, no diet, no pain. Just lifelong freedom from fat. The Holy Grail of the modern age. And here it is. You just take one capsule, one capsule once a day, for three weeks. And the fat, as they say..."

The projection began.

"The fat just walks away," the computer read as the words appeared on the screen.

"Excuse me, Ms. Foster, if I could?" a woman in the audience cut in, "I'm Penny Carter, science correspondent for  _The Observer_. There are a thousand diet pills on the market, a thousand con men stealing people's money. How do we know the fat isn't going straight into your bank account?"

"She's got a point," Evy remarked. She'd been on Earth only five years and she couldn't begin to count how many weight loss products she'd seen on the telly in just the first year alone.

"Oh Penny, if cynicism burnt up calories, we'd all be as thin as rakes," Ms. Foster replied, trying to be humorous, but it came out rather strict, "But if you want the science, I oblige."

"Adipose Industries," the computer began, showing a diagram of a human body and other chemicals, "The Adipose capsule is composed of a synthesized mobilizing lipase, bound to a large protein molecule," Evy and the Doctor frowned, that science didn't seem quite right, "The mobilizing lipase breaks up the triglycerides stored in the adipose cells," the computer continued, "Which then enter..."

Evy nudged the Doctor once more as a man entered the room and headed towards the projector, "Health and Safety," the Doctor held up the paper again, "...film department."

"100 percent legal, 100 percent effective," Ms. Foster was finishing up.

"But, can I just ask, how many people have taken the pills to date?" Penny asked.

"We've already got one million customers within the Greater London area alone. But from next week, we start rolling out nationwide. The future starts here. And Britain will be  _thin_."

And with that, the presentation was done and they quietly made their way out of the projection room.

"I'll never understand it," Evy muttered as they headed towards the marketing room, wanting to find out just who had taken the pills and get their point of view on this whole thing.

"Understand what?" the Doctor glanced over at her.

"Humans and their ridiculous quest to look thin."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing…if it's for health reasons. I just…" she sighed, "Humans are amazing, every shape and size of them. What should it matter if someone is a bit round? Doesn't stop them from being extraordinary does it? It shouldn't matter what they look like, it really shouldn't."

He smiled gently at her, she really was something else.

~8~

They entered the call center of Adipose Industries, the phones all ringing off the hook, various employees each calling out with their introductions, "Good morning, I represent Adipose Industries," and so on.

They quickly dropped into a cubicle with a nice woman on the phone, "We deliver within three working days."

"John Smith and Evelyn Daniels," the Doctor whispered, holding up the paper, "Health and Safety."

"Don't mind us," Evy smiled, "Do you have any samples of the products you're sending out?"

"It is made of 18 carat gold," she nodded, still on the phone, answering a question someone had asked. She handed them a box with a small, golden pendent inside. Evy frowned as she lifted it out of the box, she could already see the minute details and workings of alien technology on it, "And it's yours for free. No, we don't give away pens, sorry. No, I can't make an exception, no."

She handed it to the Doctor to see, telling him in his mind all the details she had noticed. He nodded, seeing them as well.

"We'll need to keep this for testing," she whispered to the woman as she hung up with her client.

"And we'll just need a list of your customers," the Doctor added, "Could you print it off?"

"Of course," the woman smiled and brought up the information on the computer.

"That's the printer there?" he stood up, looking around.

"By the plant, yeah."

"Brilliant," he sat back down.

"We don't need the entire client list," Evy replied, seeing the million or so recorded clients on the computer, "Just those in the general area would be fine."

"Has it got paper?" the Doctor stood up again, looking out at the printer.

"Yeah, Jimbo keeps it stocked," the woman said.

"Get down will you?" Evy asked, pulling him down, "And stop doing that, you're like a Jack-in-the-Box or something."

"Excuse me, everyone, if I could have your attention," someone called.

Evy and the Doctor looked up to see Ms. Foster standing there. The employees quickly stood up, Evy and the Doctor remaining seated for fear of being caught.

"On average, you're each selling forty Adipose packs per day," Ms. Foster continued, "It's not enough. I want one hundred sales per person per day. And if not, you'll be replaced. 'Cos if anyone is good in trimming the fat, it's me. Now. Back to it."

She turned and left with two men, leaving an uneasy feeling in the Doctor and Evy's stomachs.

"Anyway, if you could print that off," the Doctor got back to point, not really wanting to stay there longer and risk exposure, "Thanks," the woman smiled, clicking print on the computer before handing the Doctor a small bit of paper, "Oh, what's that?"

"My telephone number."

Evy blinked. Was she  _really_  going to do that?

"What for?" to his benefit, the Doctor seemed very confused.

"Health and Safety," the woman raised an eyebrow suggestively, "You be health, I'll be safety."

The Doctor glanced back at Evy who was trying her very best not to glare at the woman. She could handle women making subtle advances at the Doctor, but those who just made it clear what they were after…she didn't do well with them at all. But since the Doctor wasn't exactly Linked to her, she really had no say in what he did, as much as that broke her hearts.

He frowned, sensing her thoughts and turned back to the woman, serious now, "That contravenes paragraph five, subsection C," he told her, "Conflict of interest and all. Sorry."

Evy blinked again, he didn't sound sorry at all. She hadn't been expecting that reaction from him. She'd thought he would simply stutter and make some sort of excuse before running for it.

She looked up at him curiously, question in her eyes but he just smiled and backed out of the cubicle. And she smiled to herself, he did it for her. He was being more conscious of the Link that existed on her part, the feelings she held for him, and was trying to be considerate for her. It was just like him too.

He turned around and walked over to the printer, pausing when he saw that there was nothing there. He looked around, opening it to make sure there was, in fact, paper in it, before turning around, looking conflicted towards the cubicle.

Evy laughed to herself, shaking her head before walking back over to the woman, "Hi, us again," she nodded, "Seems the order didn't go through, could you print it again?"

"Yeah, sure," the woman nodded, printing it once more.

~8~

The Doctor knocked on the door of one Mr. Roger Davey, the closest client of Adipose Industries that they could find. After the Doctor's last run in with a woman involved with Adipose he hoped to avoid another encounter that was as uncomfortable for him as it was for Evy. So he'd selected a man…

"Mr. Roger Davey," the Doctor greeted as a rather thin man opened the door, "We're calling on behalf of Adipose Industries," he flashed the psychic paper, "Just need to ask you a few questions."

The man glanced from him to Evy, smiling broadly at her and ushering them in. Evy smiled politely and stepped in. The Doctor managed to force a small smile on his face…perhaps he should have gone with that Stacey woman after all.

"Exactly how long have you used the pills?" he heard Evy ask as they entered Mr. Davey's sitting room, the man in question moving to sit on the sofa.

"I've been on the pills two weeks now, I've lost fourteen kilos," he answered, quite proud of himself.

"That's the same amount every day?" the Doctor frowned.

"One kilo exactly. You wake up, and it's disappeared overnight. Well, technically speaking, it's gone by ten past one in the morning."

"Why do you say that?" Evy tilted her head to the side. The Doctor couldn't help but smile, it was something he'd been noticing, an action she did when she got really inquisitive.

"That's when I get woken up," Mr. Davey replied, "Might as well weigh myself at the same time."

The Doctor frowned in thought, "What's woken you?"

Mr. Davey got up and led them over to his central hallway, he pointed up to a security system wired in right above his front door, "It is driving me mad. Ten minutes past one, every night, bang on the dot without fail, the burglar alarm goes off. I've had experts in, I've had it replaced, I've even phoned Watchdog. But no, ten past one in the morning, off it goes."

"But with no burglars?" Evy frowned as well.

"Nothing. I've given up looking."

"Tell me Roger, have you got a cat flap?" the Doctor asked suddenly.

"Uh, yeah actually," Mr. Davey nodded, kneeling down by the front door to show them the flap, "It was there when I bought the house. Never bothered with it. I'm not a cat person."

"No, I've met cat people," he agreed distractedly as he eyed the flap, "You are nothing like them."

"Is that what it is then? Cats getting inside the house?"

"Well, thing about cat flaps is that they don't just let things in, they let things out as well," Evy commented, examining the size of the flap. Whatever it was would have to be very small.

"Like what?" his eyes widened in shock.

"The fat just walks away," the Doctor muttered, dropping the flap shut.

He moved to get up, Evy as well. She turned to the man, extending her hand to shake his own, "Thank you for your help," she smiled politely at him.

"Tell you what, maybe you could lay off the pills for a week or so," the Doctor advised, concerned for the man. Suddenly there was a beeping noise. The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out the PPS which was flashing red, "Ooh, gotta go, sorry!"

He reached out, grabbing Evy's hand, and they were off, following the signal down the street. They ran down two blocks when the Doctor suddenly stopped and looked at the device whose beeping was fading. He hit it repeatedly with his fist.

"Oi!" Evy reached out and grabbed his hand with the device in it, she twisted a small switch, increasing the power and the beeping picked up again.

He smiled widely and was off once again, his free hand in hers. They turned the corner and ran down three more blocks, the Doctor having them cut across a backyard and across another street. Evy stopped suddenly as the Doctor continued to run across the street. She had to wait only a moment before he came back, looking at her sheepishly. He'd gotten so caught up on running in that direction he'd almost missed the fact that the signal had veered to the right. He waved the device around to get the right direction, taking off with Evy the moment it dinged.

Evy's eyes widened as she saw a van heading straight for the Doctor who had stupidly run into the middle of the road in the direction the device pointed. She reached out and yanked him back by the coat, narrowly keeping him from getting hit. The device dinged just as the car pulled past and drove away. They shared a single glance before taking off after the car…but unfortunately they were unable to catch up and it disappeared around a corner.

The Doctor held up the device, both of them looking disappointed as the beeps stopped and the red lights faded.

Evy sighed, "Come on," she reached out, locking arms with the Doctor, "Best get back to the TARDIS, figure out what to do next."

He nodded, allowing her to pull him away and back down the road.

~8~

The Doctor was at the console of the TARDIS, looking at the golden Adipose Industries capsule through a magnifying glass, "Oh, fascinating!" his eyes widened, "Seems to be a bio-flip digital stitch, specifically for..."

There was a soft ping and he looked up. Slowly a new, light silver sonic screwdriver rose from a panel. He grinned, grabbing it and turning around, "Evy!" he shouted.

"What?" her voice echoed back to him from somewhere in the TARDIS.

"Come here!" he called again, "I've got something for you!"

Moments later Evy appeared at the top of the gantry, a towel in her hands as she dried her damp hair. He stared at her just a moment, taking in her new appearance. She'd seemed to have taken a liking to wearing a sleeveless, fitted dress that went to her knees, currently a light blue, along with colored leggings, presently dark red, and black motorcycle boots, a great difference from her previous incarnation who was perfectly comfortable in sneakers, jeans, and a sweater. Her hair was straight, hanging freely around her face but with the top of her hair pulled back, leaving no part, and held that way with a pin. She also had a small watch on her wrist on top of her small hourglass necklace/Perception Filter she was still wearing.

She slowly lowered the towel, seeing him staring up at her, "What?" she smiled at him, tilting her head.

He just shook his head and held up the sonic.

Her eyes widened comically as she dropped the towel and practically ran down the steps and over to him. She snatched it from his hands and fiddled it over in her fingers, checking the settings, making sure it worked, and, just for good measure, flashing him in the face with it. It had a very pale blue light, almost like a white light with a pale blue hue.

"Do you like it?" he asked, smiling softly as he watched her practically buzzing with excitement over such a simple tool.

"I love it!" she shouted, lunging at him and hugging him before pulling away quickly and patting the console, "Thank you!" she glanced at him, "Thank you both!"

He beamed at her, happy that he'd helped make her so happy.

"Ready to test it out?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Let's go!" she shouted, running towards the door, her partially damp hair completely forgotten in her excitement.

He laughed, grabbing his coat and another one for her off the Y-beam and coat rack and heading out after her.

She was waiting impatiently outside the TARDIS doors for him. He tossed her her coat to put on, almost like a frock coat that was made of a dark red, velvet-like fabric, with the cuffs of the slightly long sleeves rolled back. He held out an arm to her and she linked hers through before they headed off, past a bright blue car, towards the Adipose fire exit like they had the day before. He stepped back, motioning towards the door. She grinned, taking out her sonic and flashing the door. There were sparks like before and the door opened.

She nearly squealed at her first true use of the sonic. She had forgotten how easy things could be when you had a sonic device to help. Granted, she would probably do some things manually, time permitting, to keep sharp, but still, it was great to have a sonic again.

The Doctor laughed at her expression before leading her down the corridor they'd gone through the previous day. He looked around before opening a storage cupboard and getting in, pulling Evy in after him and sonicing the door shut. It was a rather small room, just large enough for the two of them with all the stuff already crammed in there. Evy had managed to pull herself up on some items, sitting on them, to give the Doctor more room as he chose to lean against the wall, resting his back against it and crossing his arms as they prepared to wait.

"Doctor?" Evy asked after a moment of silence. He looked at her to see her smiling, "1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256…"

"512," he answered, finishing her sequence and launching into one of his own with a wide grin.

~8~

One would think that after spending nearly eight and a half hours straight trapped in a small space with the Doctor, they would go certifiably insane. However that was most certainly what was  _not_  to be found in a certain storage cupboard of the Adipose Industries facility. Currently Evy and the Doctor were breaking out in hysterical laughter as she told him of the time she had once, as a child, actually talked her brother, the Master, one of the most infamous Time Lords, into eating grass. The Doctor actually had to wipe a tear from his eye as she told the story of just how she had convinced him to do such a thing as he could never imagine the Master being tricked in such a way. But it only solidified his thoughts that, despite the Master's insanity and cruelty, he did care very deeply for his sister if she was able to get to him like that.

Evy had cried a bit as well, though not as much out of laughter as the Doctor, she still missed her brother terribly, though she bore no ill will towards the Doctor for what had happened on the  _Valiant_. Terrin had gone down a road she couldn't follow and it was that path that had led to his demise, not the Doctor.

The Doctor reached out, taking her wrist in his hands and twisting it to check the time on the watch she wore. Sadly, it was a bit after six, time to head out.

They sobered up as the Doctor unsoniced the door and peeked out to make sure the coast was clear before opening the door completely and stepping out, Evy following.

Knowing that a building and company like Adipose would have a secret to hide, they didn't dare wander around inside the main facility for fear of setting off some sort of alarm, so they decided to take the roundabout way. Basically they went right for the stairwells and found themselves on the roof following the Doctor's brilliant plan to take a window cleaner's cart down the outside of the windows to peer inside.

 _Brilliant_... _really_...

Evy could practically feel the sarcasm in her thoughts. People often called him a madman with a box but it was things like this that made her  _truly_  question the Doctor's sanity.

But she followed him nonetheless, her mind already coming up with worse case scenarios and ways to get out of them. Much to the Doctor's annoyance, he didn't feel he needed to hear all the ways this could go wrong filtering to him from her mind.

They climbed aboard the cart, both standing a bit close in the small space as the Doctor sent them down. They stopped halfway at what appeared to be the main office space. Their thoughts were confirmed when Ms. Foster suddenly appeared in the doorway, two men escorting a bound Penny into the room.

Evy grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him down as they heard Penny shout, "You've got no right to do this! Let me go!"

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his stethoscope, "Listen?" he whispered to Evy as he put the scope in his ears.

She nodded, closing her eyes and focusing on him. She frowned after a moment of not hearing anything and peeked an eye open to see the Doctor had been staring at her for a moment, "What?"

That seemed to shock him out of whatever jumbled thoughts he was in as he quickly got to work putting the scope against the window.

He tried to focus on the conversation going on in the office and not how Evy had caught him admiring her 'concentration face' as he liked to call it.

"This is ridiculous," Penny was saying.

"Sit there," Ms. Foster ordered.

"I'm phoning my editor…"

"I said  _sit_."

There was a huff as Penny was pushed onto the chair, "You can't tie me up!" Penny cried as she was bound to it, "What sort of a country do you think this is?"

"Oh, it's a beautifully  _fat_  country. And believe me, I've travelled a long way to find obesity on this scale."

"So come on then, Ms. Foster, those pills. What are they?"

"Well, you might just as well have a scoop, since you'll never see it printed," Ms. Foster remarked, pulling open a draw and holding up a pill, "This is the spark of life."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Officially, the capsule attracts all the fat cells and flushes them away. Well, it certainly attracts them, that part's true. But it binds the fat together and galvanizes it to form a body."

"Well, what d'you mean 'a body?'"

"I am surprised you never asked about my name. I chose it well. Foster, as in foster mother. And these," another drawer opened and a soft murmur resounded as something was placed on the table, "Are my children."

"You're kidding me," Penny gasped, "What the hell is that?"

Evy opened her eyes, hearing the Doctor pulling the stethoscope down and saw him looking at her seriously. She nodded and they both slowly rose to look through the window at the small Adipose baby sitting on Foster's desk.

"Adipose," Ms. Foster smiled, "It's called an Adipose. Made out of living fat. Stripped from ordinary human..."

The topic of conversation faded as the Doctor caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. Evy, sensing his distraction, followed his gaze to see a red haired woman she recognized from his memories as Donna Noble standing across the room, visible through the window in a door. They both looked equally as stunned to see each other.

" _Donna?_ " the Doctor mouthed.

" _DOCTOR!_ " Donna mouthed back.

" _But...what? Wha...what?_ "

" _OH MY GOD!_ "

" _But...how?_ "

" _It's me!_ " Donna pointed to herself.

Evy laughed a bit at their mouthed conversation.

" _Well, I can see that!_ " he mimed.

" _Oh this is brilliant!_ " Donna shouted, but then she caught sight of Evy, " _Who's that?_ "

" _I'm Evy,_ " Evy introduced, joining in on the little mime, " _You're Donna_?"

"… _yeah…_ "

" _It's great to finally meet you!_ "

" _How do you know who I am?_ "

" _It's a long story,_ " Evy began, opening her mouth to go on when the Doctor nudged her.

" _Oi!_ " he called, getting both their attention, " _Can we get back to the problem here_?"

" _Sorry,_ " both women mouthed.

" _Thanks,_ " he rolled his eyes, turning back to Donna, " _What are you doing there?_ "

" _I was looking for you!_ " Donna answered.

" _What for?_ "

" _I, came here, trouble, read about it, internet, I thought, trouble = you!_ " she mimed, " _And this place is weird! Pills! So I hid. Back there. Crept along. Heard this lot. Looked. You! 'Cos they..._ " she stuck her thumb back at Ms. Foster who, they now noticed, was staring right at them. They froze.

"Are we interrupting you?" Ms. Foster asked, looking between the two groups.

" _Run!_ " the Doctor mouthed to Donna, who turned and fled, as Evy locked the office door with her screwdriver.

"Get her!" Ms. Foster ordered.

The Doctor pointed his sonic up, using it to get them back to the roof.

"And them!" Ms. Foster added as the guards ran out of the room after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've got the start of Evy/Doctor cuteness especially now that the Doctor can really notice her :) I promise at least one sweet/cute/touching moment per episode for this series between them.
> 
> Next chapter...when Evy's hands are tied she develops a new method of 'smacking' the Doctor while the Doctor continues to develop a new little habit when he runs...I wonder what it is?


	5. Partners in Crime (Part 2)

The Time Lords reached the roof much faster than they had gotten down to Ms. Foster's office. The Doctor practically scrambled out of the cart and jumped down the stairs that led to the roof. He spun around and held out his arms, half catching Evy as she jumped next to him before taking her hand and running towards the stair doors. They slammed them open and ran down, only making it a few levels before they ran into Donna who immediately pulled the Doctor into a hug.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, pulling back from the hug, only to hug Evy as well in her excitement, "I don't believe it!" she stepped back to look at the Doctor, "You've even got the same suit!" her eyes widened, "Don't you ever change?"

"Yeah thanks Donna, not right now," he scolded her lightly.

"Doctor!" Evy called, he looked over to see her looking down the stairwell, the guards were coming, with very large guns in their hands.

"Just like old times!" the Doctor grinned at Donna before taking Evy's hand and running up the stairs, Donna right behind them.

They found themselves back on the roof and immediately ran back to the window cleaner's cart. The Doctor and Evy immediately got to work on the controls with their sonics while Donna excitedly babbled behind them.

"'Cos I thought, how do I find the Doctor?" she exclaimed, "And then I just thought, look for trouble and then he'll turn up! So I looked everywhere, you name it, UFOs, sightings, crop circles, sea monsters. I looked, I found them all. Like that stuff about the bees disappearing, I thought, I bet he's connected. 'Cos the thing is, Doctor, I believe it all now. You opened my eyes. All those amazing things out there, I believe them all. Well, apart from that replica of the  _Titanic_  flying over Buckingham Palace on Christmas Day, I mean  _that's_  gotta be a hoax!" her eyes widened as she caught sight of Evy finishing up her work with her sonic, "She's got a sonic screwdriver! Doctor! She's got a sonic! Why's she got a sonic too? Doctor?"

"What d'you mean, the bees are disappearing?" he asked, trying to deflect the question.

"I don't know. That's what it says on the internet…but Doctor! She's got a sonic too! I thought only you aliens had those…is she an alien? She can't be! Can she? No! Is she?"

" _She'll_  explain later Donna," Evy smiled at her as the Doctor ushered her into the cart.

"You'd better," Donna pointed at her, "And I want to know how you know who I am too!"

"Donna…" the Doctor began, getting in the cart as well.

"Oh," Donna nodded, thinking he was still on about the bees, "Well on the same site, there was all the conspiracy theories about Adipose Industries, I thought 'let's take a look…'"

"No, Donna, in you get!" he called, motioning for her to join him and Evy in the cart.

"Well in that thing?" Donna looked at it in disbelief.

"Yes in that thing!"

"But if we go down in that, they'll just call us back up again," Donna reasoned, trying to avoid having to get in.

"No, no, no, 'cos I…we've," he corrected quickly, "Locked the controls with a sonic cage. We're the only ones who can control it. Not unless she's got a sonic device of her own. Which is  _very_  unlikely."

"You  _really_  need to stop saying things like that!" Evy warned him.

Donna looked between them for a moment before sighing and getting in. They set it to go down just as the door to the roof opened and Ms. Foster walked out with her guards. They looked up to see her peering over the edge of the roof down at them.

She pointed something down at them and suddenly they weren't just lowering to the ground, they were falling. The Doctor reached up and managed to stop them with his own sonic screwdriver.

"I told you!" Evy grumbled as they picked themselves back up, Ms. Foster had to have had a sonic device or something. She turned to the window and began trying to open it with her own sonic just before there was a clicking through the entire building as it deadlocked, "I can't get it open!" Evy told them, "She's deadlocked it!"

"Well smash it then!" Donna cried, lifting a tool and trying to break the window while Evy and the Doctor continued to try to open it. Donna looked up and gasped, "Cutting the cable!"

The cable broke just as the two Time Lords looked up. The basket swung to the side, the Doctor managed to grab onto the inside of the cradle, grabbing Evy out of instinct, holding her to him till she could get her own grip, but Donna wasn't so lucky.

"Donna!" the Doctor called as Donna fell out of the cart.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted back, managing to cling to the cable with a bit of metal on the end.

"Hold on!" Evy yelled as she looked down at the woman, alarmed.

"I AM!"

They grabbed the cable and tried to pull her back up but it wasn't working.

"Doctor!" Donna shouted.

There was a sparking noise. They looked up to see Ms. Foster trying to cut the other cable with her sonic device. The Doctor pulled himself up, climbing onto the edge of the cradle and aimed his sonic.

"Aim for her sonic!" Evy said.

He squinted, sticking out his tongue as he did as she suggested, flicking it on and managing to hit her sonic. It sparked and she dropped it. Evy leaned over and managed to grab it before it fell to the ground. She turned to the window, flashing the sonic pen across it, finally opening the building as it was tuned into the pen's control.

"I'm going to fall!" Donna yelled up to them as the Doctor helped Evy through the window, "This is all your fault. I should've stayed at home!"

"I won't be a minute!" the Doctor called back, climbing into the window as well.

They wasted no time in running down a level and into Ms. Foster's office. They ran straight to the window, ignoring Penny, who was still tied to the chair, "Is anyone gonna tell me what's going on?" the woman demanded.

"What, you're a journalist?" the Doctor glanced over as Evy unlocked the window.

"Yes."

"Make it up then!" Evy shouted as she reached out the window to grab Donna's legs.

"Get off!" Donna tried kicking.

"We've got you!" the Doctor called, reaching out the window as well, "We've got you. Stop kicking!"

Somehow, not even Evy was able to guess how, they managed to pull Donna in through the window, all three of them gasping by the end of the minor ordeal.

"I was right," Donna mumbled, straightening up and looking at the Doctor, "It's always like this with you, innit?"

"Oh yes!" he grinned broadly, grabbing Evy's hand, "And off we go!"

Evy laughed as he pulled her out of the room at a run, Donna following just behind them.

"OI!" Penny shouted.

Evy stopped suddenly and ran back to the room, pulling herself out of the Doctor's grip, "Sorry!" Evy called to the reporter, flashing her sonic and releasing her from the chair. She turned to run down the hallway back to the Doctor and Donna when she noticed the Doctor rush past her, back towards the room.

"Do yourself a favor," he called to Penny, sticking his head in, "Get out," he turned, smirking at Evy, before rushing past her, grabbing her hand in the process to pull her along.

They ran down a few halls and into the call center, only to skid to a stop when they came face-to-face with Ms. Foster and her guards standing there, waiting.

"Well then," Ms. Foster remarked, pulling off her glasses, "At last."

"Hello," Donna greeted tensely.

"Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced.

"I'm Donna," Donna added.

"And I'm Evy," Evy finished.

"Partners in crime," Ms. Foster commented, "And evidently off-worlders, judging by your sonic technology," she looked down at the Doctor and Evy who were both holding a sonic, Evy also holding Foster's sonic pen in her hand as well.

"Oh yes, we've still got your sonic pen," the Doctor commented as Evy held it up, "Nice, I like it. Sleek, it's kinda sleek."

"Oh it's definitely sleek," Donna agreed as Evy showed it to her.

"Yeah, and if you were to sign your real name that would be..."

"Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi Nursery Fleet," Ms. Foster announced, "Intergalactic Class."

"A wet nurse," Evy frowned, "Using humans as surrogates. What for?"

"I've been employed by the Adiposian First Family to foster a new generation after their breeding planet was lost."

"What do you mean lost?" the Doctor frowned as well.

"How do you lose a planet?" Evy tilted her head to the side.

"Oh, politics are none of my concern," Ms. Foster waved them off, "I'm just here to take care of the children on behalf of the parents."

"What, like an outer space super-nanny?" Donna shook her head, barely managing to keep up.

"Yes, if you like."

"So...so those little things they're...they're made out of fat yeah, but that woman, Stacey Campbell, there was nothing left of her."

"Oh, in a crisis the Adipose can convert bone and hair and internal organs. Makes them a little bit sick, poor things."

"What about poor Stacey?"

"It's against glactic law to seed a Level 5 planet," Evy said seriously, not a single trace of humor on her face.

"Are you threatening me?" Ms. Foster glared at her.

"She's trying to help you, Matron," the Doctor replied, just as serious, "This is your one chance, 'cos if you don't call this off, then we'll have to stop you."

"I hardly think you can stop bullets," Ms. Foster smirked as the guards took aim.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he immediately stepped in front of Evy and Donna, his arms out, trying to halt them a moment, "No, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, one more thing, before...dying. Do you know what happens if you hold two identical sonic devices against each other?"

Ms. Foster hesitated a moment, "No."

"Nor me," the Doctor grinned, glancing at Evy.

"Let's find out!" Evy shouted, holding up her screwdriver and Ms. Foster's pen and switching them on. An awful noise filled the room, Ms. Foster and the guards, and, unfortunately, Donna, began to squirm in agony as the glass all around them began to shatter. Evy glanced up at the Doctor after a moment, he nodded. She pulled the sonics apart and spun around, grabbing Donna's arm, "Come on!"

They ran off down the hall, swerving down different hallways and around corners, trying to outrun Ms. Foster and her guards. They ended up in the same corridor they had entered the building in, heading straight for the very same cupboard they'd hidden in before. The Doctor threw the door open and began throwing the supplies out as the women watched.

"Well, that's one solution," Donna commented, "Hide in a cupboard. I like it."

Evy stepped through just as there was enough room to get in and went to stand next to the Doctor by the back wall. He rested his hands against it and, with a small push, the wall fell open to reveal a green machine built into it.

"Hacking into this thing, 'cos the matron's got a computer core running through the center of the building," he explained to Donna, "Triple deadlocked…"

"But now that we've got this," Evy held up the sonic pen, "I can get into it."

The Doctor stepped to the side, allowing Evy to get to work, pulling out wires and plugs and crisscrossing them, flashing the pen every so often.

"She's wired up the whole building," the Doctor turned to Donna, explaining what Evy was doing, "We need a bit of privacy."

Evy grabbed two plugs and pressed them together, causing them to spark. Donna looked down the hall to see a few walls near the end of the hall creating lightning between them, it would surely stun any guards that had been sent after them.

"Just enough to stop them," the Doctor agreed, sensing what Donna was thinking.

"But why has she wired up the tower block?" Evy mumbled, drawing their attention, "What's  _that_  for?" she grabbed a few wires and began fiddling with them, examining them closely.

"You look older," Donna commented, staring at the Doctor.

He looked over to see her watching him, "Thanks."

"Is she one of your companions?" Donna nodded at Evy, "Or are you still mostly on your own?"

" _She_  is right here," Evy commented, if just a bit distracted, "And…it's complicated."

The Doctor sighed, "We had this friend, Martha she was called. Martha Jones. She was brilliant..."

"My best friend," Evy smiled.

"And I destroyed half her life," the Doctor looked down but then suddenly jerked back, "Ow!" he rubbed his shin before looking up at Evy, stunned, "Did you just  _kick_  me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Well, I can't exactly stop to smack you can I? You were being an idiot again. You didn't destroy Martha's life, my brother did that."

"What?" Donna looked back and forth between the two, completely confused.

"And anyway, Martha's fine. She's safe, alive, and well."

"She's gone too," he added sadly, jumping back to avoid Evy's foot as she tried to kick him with her heel again.

"What about Rose?" Donna asked, highly amused by the girl's antics but frowning when she saw Evy stiffen at the name.

"Still lost," the Doctor answered quickly, before looking over at Donna, "I thought you were going to travel the world?"

Donna recognized a change in topic, but she could also tell his previous companions were a touchy topic and let it go, "Easier said than done," she sighed, "It's like I had that one day with you and I was gonna change. I was gonna do  _so much_. Then I woke up next morning, same old life. It's like you were never there. And I tried. I  _did_  try, I went to Egypt. I was gonna go barefoot and everything. And then it's all bus trips and guidebooks and don't drink the water and two weeks later you're back home. It's nothing like being with you. I must have been mad turning down that offer."

"What offer?"

"To come with you."

"You'd come with us?" the Doctor's eyes widened. Evy couldn't help but smile, he was starting to finally see that she wasn't going anywhere, finally getting into the habit of us and we.

"Oh yes, please!" Donna grinned.

"Right," he nodded slowly, uncertain.

"Inducer activated," the computer announced, Evy frowned.

"What's it doing now?" Donna asked as the Doctor leaned over Evy's shoulder to help examine the system.

"She started the program," Evy's eyes widened as she saw the instructions flashing across the screen.

"Inducer transmitting," the computer announced.

"So far they're just losing weight," the Doctor added, moving to stand next to Evy and help her out, "But the matron has gone up to emergency pathogenesis."

"That's when they convert..." Donna began, unable to continue.

"Everything," Evy confirmed.

"A million people are gonna die!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Gotta cancel the signal!"

He pulled out the golden Adipose capsule, pulling off one end to reveal a chip, passing it to Evy to plug into the machine.

"This  _should_  contain the primary signal," Evy mumbled as she worked to get it into the system.

"If we can just switch it off the fat goes back to being just fat," he tried to type in some commands.

"Inducer increasing," the computer announced.

"No, no, no, no, no, she's doubled it! I need..." he looked around at the machine frantically, "Haven't got time! It's too far…"

"I can't override it!" Evy's eyes widened as she stepped back from the machine, "They're all gonna die..."

"Is there anything I can do?" Donna asked in a panic.

"Sorry, Donna, this is way beyond you!" the Doctor waved her off, "Gotta double the base pulse, I can't..."

"Doctor, tell me what do you need!"

"We need a second capsule to boost the override," Evy answered, seeing the Doctor was in far too bad a state to answer the woman civilly, "But we've only got the one."

"I can't save them!" he frowned, trying to fiddle with a switch. He was almost frantic when the sound of laughing sounded behind him. He turned around, in no mood for joking, only to see Donna holding up a second gold Adipose capsule to Evy. His eyes widened as he looked between the two before pulling Donna into a hug and taking the pendant from her. He shoved it into the machine as Evy flipped a switch and the lights powered down.

Donna shouted in joy as Evy reached out and hugged the ginger woman, "You are  _brilliant_!" she laughed, squeezing the life out of Donna before turning and hugging the Doctor in joy.

Just then a horn blared.

"What the hell was that?" Donna looked up.

" _That_  would be the nursery," Evy commented, rubbing her head. It never ended did it?

"Fine," Donna nodded slowly, "When you say nursery you don't mean a crèche in Notting Hill."

"Nursery  _ship_ ," the Doctor clarified.

"Incoming signal," the computer announced, turning on and continuing to speak in another language.

"Hadn't we better go and stop them?" Donna asked, concerned, as Evy and the Doctor leaned closer to it, trying to listen in.

"Hang on, instructions from the Adiposian First Family," the Doctor waved her off.

"She's wired up the tower block...to convert it into a levitation post!" Evy murmured, listening to the computer.

"Oh…ooh!" his eyes widened as he pulled back, " _We're_  not the ones in trouble now. SHE is!"

He turned, grabbing Evy's hand, and ran out of the closet, straight towards the stairs. He led them up and up and up until they were back on the roof. They could see blue lights filling the sky and thousands of Adipose being levitated up to a giant ship in the sky.

"What you gonna do then?" Donna asked, staring at the blobs, "Blow them up?"

"They're children," Evy commented softly.

"They can't help where they come from," the Doctor agreed.

"Oh,  _that_  makes a change from last time," Donna smiled, "That Martha must've done you good."

"Not just Martha," the Doctor commented, flashing a smile down at Evy.

"But yeah,  _she_  did," Evy smiled back, only too ready to give Martha her much deserved praise.

The Doctor laughed, glancing over at Donna, "She fancied me," he replied with a small bit of smugness in his voice.

Evy playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

"Mad Martha, that one," Donna smiled, though a bit curious at their interaction, "Blind Martha. Charity Martha," they looked up as an Adipose baby waved at them, they could only wave back, "I'm waving at  _fat."_

"Actually, as a diet plan, it sort of works," the Doctor commented before something caught his sight, "There she is!" they ran to the ledge to see Ms. Foster rising in the air until she was the same height as they were, "Matron Cofelia, listen to me!"

"Oh, I don't think so, Doctor," Ms. Foster replied, "And if I never see you again, it will be too soon."

"Oh, why does no one  _ever_  listen?"

"We're trying to  _help_!" Evy shouted out at her, "Please! Can you make it to the roof? Shift the levitation beam?"

"What, so that you can arrest me?" she glared at them.

"Just  _listen_!"

"We saw the Adiposian instructions," the Doctor added quickly, "They know it's a crime, breeding on Earth. So what's the one thing they want to get rid of? Their accomplice!"

"I'm far more than that. I'm nanny to all these children," Ms. Foster shook her head.

"That's just it!" Evy shook her head, looking up to see the Adipose were all in the ship and Ms. Foster was the only one left.

"Mum and dad have got the kids now, they don't need the nanny anymore!" the Doctor tried to reason.

Suddenly the blue light was gone. Foster looked down, bewildered, for only a moment, before she fell with a scream. Donna turned and hid her face in the Doctor's shoulder while he and Evy turned away from the edge just before a thud was heard. They looked up to see the Adipose babies waving goodbye to them as the ship took off.

Evy took a breath and looked over at the Doctor, who was looking down with a slightly defeated expression, and she knew he was blaming himself for not being able to save the woman. She reached out, taking his hand in her own. He looked up, startled, and stared at her a moment before nodding. He kept forgetting he wasn't alone anymore. If there was  _anyone_  in the Universe who could understand exactly how he felt it was Evy, and it wasn't just because she was Linked to him and had a near constant connection to his own emotions but because he could tell, she had a soul as kind as his own. This would hit her just as hard as him.

He sighed, squeezing her hand, before turning to lead them all away.

~8~

As they passed the ambulances on the ground, Evy tossing the sonic pen into a bin.

"Oi, you three!" someone shouted. They turned around to see Penny rush up to them, still tied to the chair she was carrying beneath her, "You're just mad. Do you hear me? Mad! And I'm gonna report you...for madness!"

They watched, in shock and speechlessness, as she crept away through the crowd.

"You see, some people just can't take it," Donna shook her head sadly.

"No," the Doctor agreed.

Evy grinned, seeing where Donna was going, nudging her, "But some people can."

Donna looked over to see Evy grinning widely at her and could feel a smile coming to her face as well, "So, then, TARDIS! Come on!" she grabbed the Doctor's arm and pulled him away towards the alley where her car was parked, Evy laughing behind them, "That's my car!" Donna cried as she saw the blue box set up right behind her car, "That is like destiny! And I've been ready for this," she ran to her trunk and popped it open, revealing numerous suitcases stashed away there, "I packed ages ago, just in case. 'Cos I thought, hot weather, cold weather, no weather..." Evy watched, amused, as the excited woman started to load her luggage into the Doctor's arms as he stood there, stunned, "...he goes anywhere, I've gotta be prepared," she threw a stripped hat box on top of the rest.

"You've got a...a...hatbox?" the Doctor commented, lost for what to say to that.

"Planet of the Hats, I'm ready!" Donna exclaimed, grabbing two suitcases and dragging them towards the TARDIS.

Evy just let out a little laugh, taking a few suitcases and the hat box from the Doctor and walking over to the blue box as well, setting them down. She went over to the door, opening it for Donna, just as the Doctor joined them, placing his cases down too.

Donna spun around from where she was about to enter the TARDIS to face the Doctor, "Do I need injections though, do I? Like when you go to Cambodia, is there any of that? 'Cos my friend Veena went to Bahrain, and..." she trailed off, seeing how the Doctor was just standing there stoically, not looking as happy as she felt. She glanced over at Evy, who was standing next to her, to see her gazing at the Doctor, concerned, "You're not saying much..."

"No, it's just..." he sighed, "It's a funny old life, in the TARDIS."

"You don't want me…"

"He's  _not_  saying that," Evy replied, resting a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"But you  _asked_  me," she looked from Evy to the Doctor who stared sadly, "Would you two rather be on your own?"

"No," the Doctor answered quickly, "Actually, no. But..." he sighed, unable to find the words.

"The last time, with Martha," Evy answered, looking straight into the Doctor's eyes as she spoke, "Like he said it...it was complicated for a short while…" Donna looked over at the woman beside her. She was speaking slowly, haltingly, as though she were trying to find the words to express what was going on in the Doctor's mind, "And that…" Evy suddenly glared at him, "That was  _not_  all your fault!" she strode over to the Doctor, "It wasn't your fault at all. Things just happened, things far beyond your control, beyond my control."

She hesitated a moment before speaking silently to him, knowing what happened with Martha, the woman's feelings towards the Doctor, should be kept private for now, ' _She understood,_ ' she told him, ' _Really she did, she's known ever since 1913, and yes, it was a bit uncomfortable at first…_ ' she trailed, pushing her thoughts of how Martha had jumped ship from fancying the Doctor to fancying him with Evy out of her mind, ' _…but everything turned out just fine in the end._ '

He nodded slowly. He knew Evy had told Martha about being a Time Lady before him, about being his Link. He could tell Martha had fancied him at first, and it had been a bit straining, but then Evy came along and suddenly it was like Martha was a different person, much more carefree, less flirtatious, more carefree. He didn't want a strain like that again, not just for the position it put him in, what with being a Time Lord and them being human, but for Evy as well. He knew the Link had resulted in romantic feelings on her side and he couldn't help but feel like he'd already hurt her enough with his feelings for Rose, not that he could be sure. She was  _very_  careful to never think of Rose around him and since he wasn't Linked to her, she could protect her deeper thoughts with less effort than if he had Linked to her. Now he couldn't be sure exactly what she thought or felt about it. But the fact remained, he just didn't want to find himself in that sort of awkward situation again, especially not with it including his Link as well.

"I just want a mate," he told her seriously, trying to convey with his words and thoughts that he didn't mean for the whole thing with Martha to start out the way it had and how much he truly wanted to avoid it happening again.

"You just want TO MATE?" Donna's voice called back to them, sounding all too horrified and a bit disgusted.

The Doctor looked up, shocked, to see Donna staring at him in horror, "I just want  _a_  mate!" he tried again, his eyes wide.

"You're not mating with me, sunshine!" she stepped back, trying to shield herself from him with the door to the TARDIS.

"A mate, I want A Mate!" the Doctor exclaimed as Evy laughed at the whole situation. She had forgotten that Donna couldn't hear their mental conversations or see the Doctor's thoughts, she had only heard the part he'd actually said out loud and jumped to a very hysterical conclusion. She had a feeling, she was going to LOVE having Donna around.

"Well just as well, because I'm not having any of  _that_  nonsense," Donna nodded, stepping back out, "I mean you're just a long streak of...nothing. You know, alien nothing."

The Doctor smiled, seeing the truth in her words. It put all his fears to rest, a companion who just wanted, well, companionship, and an adventure. The perfect combination.

"There we are, then," he nodded, "Ok."

"I can come?" Donna asked hopefully.

"Yeah!" Evy spun around, walking up to the woman and hugging her, "Of course you can!"

"We'd love it," the Doctor smiled at her.

"Oh, that's just..." Donna squeezed Evy and went to hug the Doctor but stopped suddenly, "Car keys!"

"What?" both the Doctor and Evy asked.

"I've still got my mum's car keys!" she clarified, turning to run down the alley, calling, "I won't be a minute!" as she disappeared around a corner. The Doctor and Evy couldn't help but laugh as they started to gather her luggage and move it into the TARDIS.

They'd just finished moving the last piece when Donna came running back in, "Off we go, then!"

"Here it is, the TARDIS," the Doctor introduced, "It's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside..."

"Oh, I know that bit," Donna cut him off with a wave of his hand, "Although frankly, you could turn the heat up..." then she saw the Doctor pouting, "What?"

"That's his favorite part," Evy rolled her eyes at him as she leaned against the console.

"So, whole wide Universe, where do you want to go?" the Doctor asked, trying to get the topic of conversation away from himself.

"Oh, I know exactly the place," Donna grinned.

"Which is?"

"Two and a half miles, that way," she pointed her thumb over her shoulder.

The Doctor looked at Evy, confused, she could only shrug before turning around and pressing a few buttons on the console. The Doctor watched her a moment before walking to the other side and pulling a lever and they were off. It seemed the TARDIS had calmed down enough to let him help pilot.

They were flying across the sky, just passing a hill, when Donna ran to the doors and opened them. The Doctor locked the coordinates enough where they could go see who she was waving at.

"That's Donna!" they heard someone shout, "Yeah, that's Donna."

It was an old man, standing by a telescope, "Doctor?" Evy asked quietly, leaning over, "Isn't that the newsstand man?" he looked at her, confused, "From Christmas? The  _Titanic_?"

"Oh!" his eyes widened as he looked out the door again, "It is!"

They enthusiastically began to wave back, the man growing more excited when he saw them.

"And that's him!" the man pointed up at them, "That's him! Hey! That's him! Ha ha! Go on girl! Go on, get up there! Hey!"

He did a merry little dance as the TARDIS pulled them away from Earth, sending them zooming away through time and space.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone want to guess what habit the Doctor is developing when he starts to run? :)
> 
> Next chapter...we get a bit more about Evy's life on Gallifrey while Lucius sees something about her more clearly than the Doctor, and...how will the Doctor react to Evy in a toga?


	6. The Fires of Pompeii (Part 1)

"So…you're a Time Lady?" Donna asked as she and Evy sat at the captain's chair, watching as the Doctor worked on landing the TARDIS.

As soon as Donna had gotten settled away, setting up her own room near Evy's and the Doctor's, the Doctor had said he'd gotten a trip all planned out for Donna and to head to the control room to get ready.

Donna had immediately set on Evy about the sonic screwdriver and Evy had told her about being a Time Lady. She had told her all about the travels with Martha and finding her brother, the Master, hiding away at the end of the Universe, the whole Year-That-Never-Was, and even about the  _Titanic_.

"Yes," Evy nodded, "I was sent out of the war just before the planet was sealed off."

Donna nodded, recalling the Doctor speaking of how his planet had been lost. She looked over at the Doctor, fiddling with couple switches, and couldn't help but smile. She had seen how lonely and weary he seemed when she last met him, she was so happy for him, that he'd found someone like him to travel with. She was even more happy to find that his new companion had no qualms with him taking on another traveler, her.

Donna opened her mouth to ask something when the TARDIS jolted, sending them falling to the floor.

"One of these days you are going to have to let me pilot," Evy grumbled to the Doctor as she pulled herself up and went to help Donna up as well, "And not just when the TARDIS is cross with you. I actually  _passed_  my exams."

The Doctor just rolled his eyes, feigning deafness and ran to the doors. He stepped out and pushed aside a rough sort of curtain so they could see where they were. He turned, grinning, and stepped aside for them to come out and see.

"Ancient Rome," he exclaimed as Donna looked around in shock, "Well, not to them, obviously. To all intents and purposes right now...this is brand new Rome."

"Oh my God!" Donna breathed excitedly as she looked at all the people shopping around the stalls, "It's so…it's so Roman! This is fantastic!" she turned and gave the Doctor a friendly hug, "I'm here...in Rome. Donna Noble in Rome!" she walked out in a daze, not seeing the Doctor and Evy exchange a proud smile, it always felt so good to give companions this sort of thrill, "This is just weird. I mean, everyone here is dead."

"Don't tell them that," Evy grinned, looping her arm through the Doctor's as they stepped out onto the streets with Donna.

"Hold on a minute," Donna said, seeing something behind them as she turned to thank them, "That sign over there is in English. Are you having me on? Are we in Epcot?"

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor replied quickly, "That's the TARDIS translation circuits."

Donna looked at him blankly.

"It makes it  _look_  like English..." Evy explained, "Sound like English too," she grinned, "You, Donna Noble, are speaking in Latin right now."

"Seriously?" Donna's eyes widened.

"Mhm," the Doctor nodded.

"I just said 'seriously' in Latin…"

"Oh yeah," he laughed.

Donna joined in, "What if I said something in actual Latin? Like 'veni, vidi, vici?' My dad said that when he came back from football. If I said 'veni, vidi, vici' to that lot, what would it sound like?"

The Doctor hesitated, looking at Evy, "I'm not sure…" Evy admitted, that had never really come up in their studies on Gallifrey.

"You have to think of difficult questions, don't you?" the Doctor asked jokingly.

"I'm gonna try it," Donna stated, walking with purpose over to one of the vendors.

"Hello, sweetheart," he greeted, "What can I get for you, my love?"

"Veni, vidi, vici."

"Huh?" he frowned, looking confused, "Sorry? Me no speak Celtic. No can do, missy."

"Yeah…" Donna nodded to herself, walking away and over to the Doctor and Evy, who had been watching the whole thing with interest, "What does he mean 'Celtic?'"

"Welsh," Evy answered, "Apparently speaking the actual language sounds Welsh. Interesting."

"There we are," the Doctor hummed, agreeing, "That's something."

They started walking again aimlessly, keeping their eyes open for the main sights of Rome.

"Won't our clothes look a bit odd?" Donna asked after a moment, seeing the many people walking around in togas and robes.

"Nah," the Doctor waved off her concern, "Ancient Rome, anything goes. It's like Soho...but bigger."

"You've been here before then?"

"Mhm, ages ago," he commented, a bit distracted, "Before you ask, that fire had  _nothing_  to do with me."

Evy snorted and gave him a look.

"Well, a little bit," he admitted, "But I hadn't gotten the chance to look around properly. Coliseum...Pantheon...Circus Maximum..."

"We should have seen them by now," Evy cut in, looking around, confused, "Where is everything?"

The Doctor stopped, seeing the point of her statement, and looked around, "Try this way," he led them off to the side, through an archway and down a wider street. It was fairly easy to see any major landmarks looming in the distance but they saw none. The Doctor and Evy proceeded to look around when something caught Donna's eye.

"I'm not an expert, but there are Seven Hills of Rome, aren't there?" Donna called to them, "How come they only got one?"

The Doctor and Evy turned to see Donna staring at a rather large mountain at the edge of town. But they didn't have long to think on it as the ground started shaking.

"Here we go again," a vendor called out while the rest of the vendors got to work trying to hold things steady and save their merchandise.

"Wait a minute!" Donna's eyes widened as she saw black smoke start to rise from the mountain, "One mountain...with smoke...which makes this..."

"Pompeii," Evy breathed, "We're in Pompeii…"

"And it's Volcano Day!" the Doctor finished before reaching out and grabbing Evy's hand, "We need to leave…now!" he pulled her down the streets, Donna close behind as they headed for the TARDIS. He threw open the curtain that hid the box behind it, only to see it nowhere to be found.

"You're kidding," Evy stared at the blank space.

"Don't tell me the TARDIS is gone," Donna panted, breathing heavily from the run and silently cursing Time Lords and their two hearts.

"Okay," the Doctor agreed, still a bit stunned.

"Where is it then?"

The Doctor turned to her, confused, "You told me not to tell you."

Evy spun on her heel and ran back into the street, still trying to see if she could spot the TARDIS.

"Don't get clever in Latin," Donna shot back as the Doctor followed Evy out.

"Um...excuse me!" she ran over to the same vendor Donna had spoken to, "Excuse me!"

"There was a box…big, blue box," the Doctor continued as Donna joined them, "Big, blue, wooden box...just over there. Where's it gone?"

"Sold it, didn't I?" the vendor replied smugly.

"But it wasn't yours to sell," Evy frowned at him.

"It was on my patch, wasn't it? I got 15 sesterces for it. Lovely jubbly."

"Who did you sell it to?" the Doctor asked.

"Old Caecilius," he nodded down the street, "Look...if you want to argue, why don't you take it up with him? He's on Foss Street. Big villa can't miss it."

"Thanks," the Doctor nodded, turning to run off but suddenly changing course and coming back, "What did he buy a big, blue, wooden box for?"

"Doctor, not really the time," Evy reminded him.

"Right, right!" he nodded, grabbing her hand and taking off, Donna close behind. They ran down a few streets in the general direction the vendor had pointed until they came to a large intersection. They looked around for a moment before each taking off down one street, trying to find their way.

' _Found it!_ ' Evy heard the Doctor shout in her mind and immediately turned around and ran back to the intersection, running into Donna and the Doctor at the exact same time.

"Ha!" he grinned, "I've got it! Foss Street, this way!"

"No," Donna reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him, "I've found this big sort of amphitheater I think...we can start there. We can get everyone together. Then maybe they've got a great, big bell or something we could ring. Have they invented bells yet?"

"What do you want a bell for?" the Doctor frowned.

"To warn everyone! To start the evacuation! What time does Vesuvius erupt? When's it due?"

"It's 79 AD, 23rd of August, which makes the eruption tomorrow," Evy replied, she'd figured out exactly when they were as quickly as she could after seeing the volcano.

"Plenty of time," Donna breathed a sigh of relief, "We can get everyone out easy."

"Except we're not going to," the Doctor told her, grabbing the arm holding him and tugging her, but she didn't move.

"But that's what you  _do_ ," Donna's eyes widened as she looked at him, "You're  _the Doctor_. You  _save_  people."

"Any other time he would, yeah," Evy replied solemnly, defending him, "But Pompeii is a fixed point in history."

"What happens happens," the Doctor agreed, "There is no stopping it."

"Says who?" Donna demanded, resisting as the Doctor tried to pull her again.

"Says me."

"What, and you're in charge?" Donna glared at him.

"TARDIS, Time Lord...yeah."

"Donna, human...no!"

"Evy, stop it…go!" Evy cut in, trying to remind them of the imminent threat on the horizon.

"I don't need your permission," Donna ignored her, "I'll tell them myself."

"Look Donna," Evy tried to reason with her, "If you stand out here and start shouting that the end of the world is coming, they'll just think you're a…mad soothsayer or something…just like it is in your time."

"Now, come on," the Doctor ordered, "TARDIS, we are getting out of here."

Donna stormed off after them, "Well, I just might have something to say about that spaceman!"

"Oh, I bet you will!" he called back before turning the corner with Evy, heading down the street towards a large villa, Caecilius's.

"Whoa!" the Doctor called, saving a bust from falling to the briefly shaking ground. He set it up right and slapped its cheeks, "There you go."

"Thank you, kind sir," Caecilius breathed, having been too slow to save the bust himself. He looked up at the trio standing in his doorway and frowned, "I'm afraid business is closed for the day. I'm expecting a visitor."

"Oh, that's me," the Doctor reached out and shook the man's hand, "I'm a visitor. Hello."

"Who are you?"

"Octavia," Evy called out the first name she could think of.

"I am...Spartacus," the Doctor introduced after a moment, a grin blooming on his face.

"And so am I," Donna added, each of them grinning at the small joke.

"Mr. and Mrs. Spartacus?" Caecilius looked between Donna and the Doctor.

"Oh no, we're not married," the Doctor replied quickly at the same times as Donna said, "Not together."

The Doctor looked over at Evy cautiously, only to see her shaking her head in humor.

"Oh, then brother and sister?" Caecilius nodded, "Yes, of course. You look very much alike."

"Really?" the Doctor and Donna asked at the same time.

"You sound very much alike too," Evy commented, smiling.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not open for trade," Caecilius said again.

"And that trade would be…" the Doctor trailed off.

"Marble. Lucius Caecilius. Mining, polishing and design thereof. If you want marble, I'm your man."

"That's good," the Doctor held up the psychic paper, "That's good, 'cos I'm the marble inspector."

"By the gods of commerce, an inspection," a woman behind Caecilius gasped, taking a cup of wine from a young man sitting on the edge of a small pool and dumping it into said pool, "I'm sorry, sir. I do apologize for my son."

"Oi!" the boy shouted, glaring at his mother for taking the drink from him.

"This is my good wife, Metella," Caecilius introduced, "I…I must confess, we're not prepared for a…"

"Nothing to worry about," the Doctor cut in, "I…I'm sure you've got nothing to hide. Although, frankly, that..." he spotted the TARDIS, "…object...rather looks like wood to me."

He, Donna, and Evy began to walk towards it, trying to do so inconspicuously.

"I told you to get rid of it!" they heard Metella hiss.

"I only bought it today," Caecilius informed them.

"Well there you go," Evy commented lightly, "Caveat emptor."

"Oh, you're Celtic!" Caecilius's eyes widened at the foreign business he might be able to drum up, "They're lovely."

"I'm sure it's fine but I might have to take it off your hands for a proper inspection," the Doctor told him.

"Although," Donna began, "While we're here, wouldn't you recommend a holiday, Spartacus?"

"I don't know what you mean, Spartacus."

"Oh, this lovely family, mother and father and son..." Donna looked at them meaningfully, "What about you Octavia? Don't you think they should get out of town?"

"Why should we do that?" Caecilius frowned.

The Doctor rubbed his eyes as Donna tried to explain, "Well, the volcano for starters."

"What?"

"Volcano."

"What-ano?"

"That great big volcano right on your doorstep."

"Oh, Spartacii, for shame," Evy cut in suddenly, linking her arms with the Doctor and Donna's, "We haven't greeted the household gods yet," she tugged them away, past the family, towards the back wall where a small shrine was set up.

"They don't know what it is," the Doctor hissed to Donna as they reached the shrine, "Vesuvius is just a mountain to them. The top hasn't blown off yet."

Evy reached into a small basin and sprinkled the frieze of the gods with water, "The Romans haven't even got a word for volcano. No one will. Not until tomorrow."

"Oh great," Donna replied sarcastically, "They can learn a new word...when they  _die_."

"Donna, shut up," the Doctor hissed, frustrated.

"Listen, I don't know what sort of kids you've been flyin' around with in outer space, but you're not telling  _m_ e to shut up. That boy..." she nodded at Caecilius's son, "How old is he, sixteen? And tomorrow he  _burns to death_."

"And that's our fault?"

"Right now, yes!"

Just then a servant entered the room, "Announcing Lucius Petrus Dextrus, Chief Augur of the city government!" he called as an older man strode in, wearing a cloak draped over his right shoulder.

"Lucius, my pleasure as always," Caecilius greeted.

Donna, the Doctor, and Evy turned away from the shrine, stepping back into the room to see who the visitor was.

"Quintus, stand up," Metella hissed at her son as he stood with a long suffering sigh.

"A rare and great honor, sir, for you to come to my house," Caecilius continued, holding out a hand to Lucius, only for the gesture to be ignored.

"The birds are flying north..." Lucius said, "And the wind is in the west."

"Right," he nodded slowly, not understanding what was being said at all, "Absolutely. That's good, is it?"

"Only the grain of wheat knows where it will grow."

"There now, Metella, have you ever heard such wisdom?" Caecilius turned to his wife for help.

"Never," Metella breathed, "It's an honor."

"Pardon me, sir, I have guests," Caecilius motioned towards the trio standing in the doorway of the shrine, "This is Octavia, Spartacus, and, uh, Spartacus."

They waved.

"A name is but a cloud upon a summer wind," Lucius commented.

"But the wind is felt most keenly in the dark," Evy remarked.

"Ah!" Lucius grinned, "What is the dark other than an omen of the sun?"

"We concede that every sun must set..." the Doctor began as the auger let out a triumphant laugh, "...and yet the son of the father must also rise."

"Damn," Lucius turned to look at them closer, "Very clever. Evidently a man and woman of learning."

"Oh yes, but don't mind us," the Doctor grinned. Evy rolled her eyes, he did so  _love_  being called brilliant, "Don't want to disturb the status quo."

"They're Celtic," Caecilius whispered to Lucius.

"And we'll be off in a minute," Evy told them as the Doctor began to slowly lead Donna towards the TARDIS, letting the residents get back to business.

"I'm not going," Donna insisted quietly.

"It's ready, sir," Caecilius turned back to Lucius.

"You've got to," Evy replied just as quiet.

"Well I'm not," she repeated.

"The moment of revelation," Caecilius unveiled a square piece of marble with a familiar design in it, "And here it is..." the Doctor glanced back over at the marble, Evy saw it in his mind and turned as well, "Exactly as you specified. It pleases you, sir?"

They stopped.

"As the rain pleases the soil," Lucius nodded, looking down at the marble.

"Oh now that's...different," the Doctor commented as they turned around to rejoin the residents, "Who designed that then?"

"My lord Lucius was very specific," Caecilius replied.

"Where'd you get the pattern?" Evy tilted her head to the side and looked at the marble more closely.

"On the rain and mist and wind," Lucius answered.

"Well that looks like a circuit," Donna commented.

"Made of stone," Evy nodded.

"Do you mean you just dreamt that up?" Donna asked the man.

"That is my job...as City Augur," Lucius finally answered more clearly.

"What's that then, like the mayor?" Donna shook her head in confusion.

"Oh, ah, you must excuse my friend," the Doctor said quickly so as not to offend, "She's from..."

"Barcelona," Evy finished with the first place that jumped into her mind, this Doctor was quite fond of it.

"This is an age of superstition..." the Doctor explained softly as they pulled Donna to the side, "Of  _official_  superstition."

"The augur is paid by the city to tell the future," Evy continued.

The Doctor nodded, "'The wind will blow from the west.' That's the equivalent of the 10:00 news."

"They're laughing at us," another voice said. They looked over to see a young woman standing there shakily, looking very pale and drawn, not at all with it, and staring at them dazedly, "Those three, they use words like tricksters. They're mocking us."

"No, no," the Doctor said quickly, "We meant no offence."

"I'm sorry," Metella apologized, walking over to the woman, "My daughter's been consuming the vapors."

"By the gods mother!" Quintus exclaimed, "What have you been doing to her?"

"Not now, Quintus," Caecilius said quietly.

"But she's sick. Just look at her."

"I gather I have a rival in this household," Lucius commented, "Another with the gift."

"Oh, she's been promised to the Sibylline Sisterhood," Metella told them proudly, "They say she has remarkable visions."

"The prophecies of women are limited and dull," Lucius remarked, looking at Evelina with disdain, "Only the men folk have the capacity for true perception."

"I'll tell you where the wind's blowing right now, mate," Donna glared at him as did Evy.

The ground shook.

"The mountain god marks your words," Lucius turned to Donna, "I'd be careful if I were you."

"Consuming the vapors, you say?" the Doctor frowned, looking at Evelina.

"They give me strength," Evelina replied.

"It doesn't look like it."

"Is that your opinion...as a doctor?"

"I beg your pardon?" his eyes widened.

"Doctor. That's your name."

"How did you know that?"

"It is written above you, in eave that protects you…" she hazily glanced at Evy before turning her sights on Donna, "And you…you call yourself noble."

"Now then Evelina," Metella took her arm, "Don't be rude."

"No, no, no," the Doctor held up his hand, "Let her talk."

"You come from so far away," Evelina gazed upon them.

"A female soothsayer in inclined to invent all sorts of vagaries," Lucius replied.

"Oh, not this time, Lucius," the Doctor told him, "I reckon you've been out-soothsaid."

"Is that so...man from Gallifrey?" he turned his sights on the Doctor.

"What?" Evy's eyes widened.

"Strangest of images," Lucius stared at the Doctor, "Your home is lost in fire, is it not? And not just  _your_  home…" he turned his gaze on Evy, "But it's  _hers_  as well. The last children of Gallifrey."

"What are they doing?" Donna breathed, looking at the shocked faces of the Doctor and Evy.

"And you, daughter of..." Lucius trailed, staring at Donna a moment, "London."

"How does he know that?"

"This is the gift of Pompeii. Every single oracle tells the truth."

"But that's impossible," Evy shook her head, snapping herself out of her shock.

"Doctor," he turned suddenly to face the Doctor, "She is returning."

"Who is?" the Doctor frowned, "Who's she?"

Lucius ignored him and turned to Donna, "And you, Daughter of London...you have something on your back."

"What's that mean?" Donna asked, suddenly very scared.

But again, Lucius ignored her and turned is gaze on Evy, a cruel smile making its way to his face, "And you…Daughter of Gallifrey, you shall be crushed in your pain," Evy stiffened, "The pain that surrounds your hearts even now."

The Doctor whipped his head over at Evy as she suddenly threw up her mental barriers. He couldn't hear her.

"Even the word 'Doctor' is false," Evelina commented, pulling his attention away from Evy for only a moment, "Your real name is hidden. It burns in the stars of the cascade of Medusa herself. You are a lord, sir, as she is a lady, a lord...of time..."

And then she fainted.

"Evelina!" Metella shouted as the Doctor and Evy rushed to her side.

But it seemed as though this was an all too familiar occurrence for the family as Quintus immediately went to his sister's side and scooped her up to carry her to her room. Evy, Donna, and Metella followed along, the Doctor trailing behind them. Once Evelina was set up on the bed, Metella quickly moved to her side and began to look after her.

Evy looked back at the Doctor, slowly lowering her mental shields as she had pushed down her rampant thoughts deep into her mind so he wouldn't see, so he couldn't see, not without being Linked to her.

Sensing the return of her in his mind he looked over at her as well, ' _I'm going to try and figure out what is going on around here,_ ' he spoke to her silently, ' _Could you…_ '

She nodded, ' _I'll keep an eye out here._ '

She knew he was worried about leaving Donna alone with the family, not to mention she herself was worried about the girl who had fainted and more than a little curious as to how she had known all she had.

The Doctor turned and walked off with Caecilius, back towards the front of the house. Quintus had disappeared as soon as Evelina was situated, not at all happy to see his sister in such a state.

"She didn't mean to be rude," Metella commented, concern evident in her voice, "She's ever such a good girl. But when the gods speak through her…" she began to unwrap a cloth from around Evelina's arm.

"What's wrong with her arm?" Donna frowned.

"An irritation of the skin. She never complains, bless her. We bathe it in olive oil every night."

"What is it?" Evy frowned as well, seeing a gray tone to the girl's skin as she stepped forward to join Donna at the girl's bedside.

Metella hesitated a moment before turning to look at the two women who had stayed with her, "Evelina said you'd come from far away. Please, have you ever seen anything like it?"

She held out Evelina's arm for them to see. Donna and Evy looked at each other a moment before reaching out to run their fingers along the gray.

Donna pulled away quickly, "It's stone!" she breathed in shock.

Evy felt the gray one more time before pulling away slowly, her mind already realizing what was happening, "Pyroviles," she muttered softly under her breath.

"What?" Metella looked up at her, not having quite heard her.

"Nothing," Evy replied quickly, stepping back and making it look as though she were looking around the room while Donna moved to help Metella wrap the girl's arm back up.

Evy looked down, staring at nothing in particular as she focused on the Doctor.

She could sense him with Caecilius in the main chamber of the house, gathered around the hypocaust, examining it. She hesitated from informing him of what she'd learned, not entirely certain exactly what was going on or how, but perhaps he would learn something to fit the pieces of information she had gleamed.

" _…_ we're very advanced in Pompeii," Caecilius was saying to him, "In Rome, they're still using the old wood-burning furnaces, but we've got hot springs...leading from Vesuvius itself."

"Who thought of that?" the Doctor asked.

"The soothsayers after the great earthquake seventeen years ago. An awful lot of damage but we rebuilt."

She could sense the conflict in the Doctor's mind before he spoke again, "Didn't you think of moving away?" but then he retracted, all the years of schooling coming back to him, "Oh, no, then again, San Francisco."

"That's a new restaurant in Naples, isn't it?" Caecilius asked, confused, never having heard of San Francisco before.

Evy frowned, so something had infected the soothsayers, allowing them to see the future, and they, in turn, were spreading this infection to the others of Pompeii via the hypocausts.

There was a loud rumbling in the Doctor's ear, she listened, "What's that noise?" the Doctor asked.

"Don't know," Caecilius sighed, "Happens all the time. They say the gods of the Underworld are stirring."

If it really was the Pyroviles, then they had to be living  _in_  Vesuvius, it was the only way to spread it through the hypocausts and be able to hear them back.

"But after the earthquake..." the Doctor began, "Let me guess. Is that when the soothsayers started making sense?"

"Oh yes, very much so," Caecilius nodded, "I mean, they'd always been...shall we say 'imprecise?' But then...the soothsayers, the augurs, the haruspex…all of them, they saw the truth again and again. It's quite amazing. They can predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision."

The Doctor hesitated before asking, "Have they said anything about tomorrow?"

"No. Why should they? Why do you ask?"

Evy's frown deepened as one began to form on the Doctor's face, "No, no, no reason. Just asking. But the soothsayers...they all consume the vapors?"

"That's how they see."

"Ipso facto..." the Doctor mumbled and Evy smiled a bit, knowing he'd pulled on his brainy specs.

"Look, you..." Caecilius began when the Doctor cut him off.

"They're all consuming this," the Doctor said. Evy concentrated and could see him holding a speck of rock in his hand.

"Dust?"

"Tiny particles of rock," he explained, sprinkling them before moving to taste them, Evy winced, she hated it when he did that, it was a disgusting and crude way of evaluating something, "They're breathing in Vesuvius."

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy called in his mind, ' _It's Pyroviles._ '

' _How can you tell?_ ' he asked silently as he went back to putting the grille on the hypocaust.

' _Evelina's turning to stone…_ ' she breathed, ' _And Pyroviles are the only species that could survive in such intense conditions, inside a volcano._ '

He nodded, ' _But why are they here? Why try to infect all these people?_ '

' _I don't know,_ ' she sighed, ' _I could only guess…_ '

He frowned, ' _Then we'll have to find out._ '

Evy could sense the Doctor heading out to find Quintus and turned around to see Evelina awake and watching her mother holding up some outfits to Donna.

~8~

The Doctor had wandered around the house for quite a while before he'd actually managed to find Quintus. Caecilius had insisted on showing the Doctor the scrolls of receipts he'd had about his marble business, as he was still under the impression that the Doctor was a marble inspector. That had taken a bit longer than he anticipated in giving the man the slip so he could find Quintus. But after he found the boy, it had been surprisingly easy to get the information out of him, just flash a little gold coin and he had agreed to lead him straight to Lucius Petrus Dextrus's house.

"Going somewhere?" a voice called as they reached the front door.

They tensed and turned around to see Evy standing there. The Doctor's mouth dropped open and his eyes widened as he saw her wearing a toga. It fit her nicely, he had to admit. It was an almost floor length, sleeveless dress with golden clasps on her shoulders, bunching up the fabric. There was a gold cord wrapped around her waist, crisscrossing, from just under her bust, across her stomach, and down to her hips. It was classic white.

"Uh…" was his brilliant response.

"You were," Evy nodded, "And without me?"

"Um," he swallowed hard, shaking his head to clear his nonexistent thoughts, "I thought you'd want to stay here with Donna."

It was a lie. They both knew it. He was going out on his own.

Evy rolled her eyes, before pulling a torch off the wall and stepping up to him, "Well, let's go then," the Doctor didn't move. Evy frowned, "What?"

"I uh," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I'd like you to stay here."

Evy blinked, "And leave you to your own devices? We both know how much trouble you seem to get into without anyone to watch you."

"I know," the Doctor replied quietly, "And that's just it…I'd feel better if you were here, if you were safe…"

"Doctor…"

"Please," he whispered, "Pyroviles, they're unpredictable and dangerous…"

"I know."

He glanced over at Quintus before leaning forward so he wouldn't hear, "If Evelina is turning into one, I need to know that Donna will be safe. Please stay, for her."

Evy stared at him a long while before sighing and holding out the torch for him to take, "You'd better come back in one piece," she threatened lightly, "Or I'll kill you."

"I promise," he nodded, glancing at her one more time before turning and walking out of the house with Quintus.

Evy shook her head and turned around to go find Donna.

~8~

' _Evy?_ ' the Doctor's voice filtered through her mind as she stood in Evelina's room, watching her and Donna talk, ' _Are you seeing this?_ '

She closed her eyes, leaning against the wall, and focused, seeing a wall of marble circuits in Lucius's home. She frowned, ' _Is that…a power converter?_ '

' _Looks like it. The parts for it at least._ '

' _But what's if for?_ '

' _No idea,_ ' he mumbled, before grinning, ' _Can't wait to find out though!_ '

The open communication faded as he became distracted by something and Evelina's laughter drifted over to her, distracting her as well.

"You're not supposed to  _laugh_ ," Donna shouted as she showed off her new toga, "Thanks for that. What do you think?" she threw a cloth over her shoulder and struck a pose, "The goddess Venus."

"Oh, that's sacrilege," Evelina laughed.

"But a lovely one," Evy complimented, earning a playful wink from Donna. She stepped forward, off the wall, and went to join the two women by the bed.

"Nice to see you laugh, though," Donna grinned at the young woman, sitting down on the edge of the bed, "What do you do in old Pompeii, then...girls your age? You got...mates? Do you go hangin' about 'round the shops? T.K. Maximus?"

Evelina shook her head sadly, "I'm promised to the sisterhood for the rest of my life."

"You had no choice in that, did you?" Evy frowned.

There were temples on Gallifrey, young men and women were promised to the temples and trained to see the Universe and time in a more clear-cut way. Every Time Lord and Lady could see the turn of the Universe, the fixed points in time, the points in flux. But the training the temples provided would allow the initiated person to see the different outcomes of the points in flux, how each and every decision would affect the ultimate outcome of the Universe.

Her family had been approached when she was very young to see if they would commit her to the temple but her father had adamantly refused. Very few children were ever asked to join, often only those who were inspired to such a high degree that their minds almost functioned on a different level than average. When standing at the Schism, not many children were inspired. Most would run away, not as extreme as in the Doctor's case where he literally ran away from the planet as soon as he could, they would just run from the Schism, overwhelmed by the sheer power of time. Some would go mad for a short while, be plagued with nightmares, claim paranoia for a bit, but they would grow out of it, learn to revere the power of time because of it. Few were ever driven as insane as her brother had been. And few of those who were inspired were on such a level as to draw attention from the temples.

It was a lonely existence, pulled away from the Academy, not learning anything about science or math, just time. Her brother had railed against her being sent there when he found out she'd been offered a place. He'd actually shouted at their father about it, not wanting his sister to suffer that sort of existence. Until their father had calmed him down, saying he would never break up their family like that. She was safe. She had been lucky her family had been given the choice. She had been very happy since then, not at all saddened by the potential that had been squandered. She loved her family too much to just leave like that. And her brother made sure she had a fantastic childhood after that, making sure she saw what she would have had to give up had their father accepted.

She paused in thought, it seemed she, her brother, and the Doctor were all connected from the beginning. Each of them represented the extremes of time.

"It's not my decision," Evelina said, confirming Evy's thoughts, "I have the gift of sight. The Sisters chose for me."

"Then...what can you see happening tomorrow?" Donna asked.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter the Doctor and Evy grow closer over a difficult decision and Donna learns exactly what it's like for Evy to live with a partial Link.


	7. The Fires of Pompeii (Part 2)

"Donna," Evy whispered in warning, but Donna just ignored her.

"Is tomorrow special?" Evelina frowned.

"You tell me," Donna continued, "What do you see?"

"Donna don't," Evy hissed, but Donna glared at her.

"The sun will rise," Evelina said, closing her eyes for a moment, "The sun will set. Nothing special at all."

"Look...don't tell the Doctor I said anything 'cos he'll kill me...but I've got a prophecy too," Donna began.

Evelina covered her eyes with her hands as though to avoid the sight of a false prophecy.

"Donna!" Evy reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her off the bed, "You can't!"

Donna wrenched her arm from the woman's grip and frowned at her. She looked into Evy's eyes, searching for something there before sighing, "Please," she said quietly, half begging her, "You've just got to let me  _try_."

Evy frowned, biting her lip in thought before sighing and stepping back.

"Thank you," Donna said to her before turning to Evelina, "Evelina, I'm sorry, but you've got to hear me out...Evelina, can you hear me? Listen."

"There is only  _one_  prophecy," Evelina shook her head, trying to ignore her.

"But everything I'm about to say to you is true. I swear. Just listen to me. Tomorrow, that mountain is going to explode. Evelina, please  _listen_. The air is going to fill with ash and rocks...tons and tons of it and...this whole town is gonna get buried."

"That's not true!"

"I'm sorry. I'm  _really_  sorry, but everyone's gonna die. Even if you don't believe me, just tell your family to get out of town...just for one day, just for tomorrow. But you've got to get  _out_! Just leave Pompeii!"

"This is false prophecy!" Evelina shouted, tearing her hands away from her eyes, upset.

"Donna," Evy said gently, pulling Donna away from the girl, "I told you," she murmured, hugging the woman who was near tears at the girl's seeming refusal to help herself and her family, "It's human nature, no one wants to know awful things are about to happen, no one wants to believe it's possible."

"But it  _is_ ," Donna whispered back brokenly.

"I know," Evy gave her an extra squeeze before pulling back, "But they've been warned at least, that's far more than oth…"

She trailed off, her gaze shifting to something over Donna's shoulder for only a moment before her eyes widened in alarm and she ran out of the room. She ran straight into the main room as a loud set of boomings could be heard. But she gave little thought to that, the Doctor had gotten himself into some sort of trouble, she could just tell.

"What is it?" Metella shouted, "What's that noise?"

"Doesn't sound like Vesuvius," Caecilius frowned.

Evy ran straight past them and towards the door, only to run straight into the Doctor as he ran in. His arms immediately encircled her waist to keep her from falling backwards and looked up at Caecilius, "Caecilius! All of you, get out!"

"Doctor, what is it?" Donna asked, running into the room.

"I think we're being followed," he said, pushing Evy behind him as the grille over the hypocaust was blown into the air, "Just get out!"

He immediately got to work, trying to herd everyone out of the door as the ground around the hypocaust cracked and a growling filled the room. Evy made her way to Donna, trying to pull her back when everyone froze. A large creature seemingly made of stone and magma forced its way out of the ground and into the room.

"The gods are with us," Evelina gasped, seeing it.

"Water!" the Doctor shouted, "We need water! Quintus, all of you, get water! Donna! Evy!"

Donna, Evy, Quintus, and one of the servants ran around the room, grabbing vases and other objects to try and collect water from the pool.

"Don't!" Evy shouted, seeing a servant approach the creature.

"Blessed are we to see the gods," the servant breathed.

"Get back!" Evy tried again but it was too late. The creature breathed out fire, burning the servant to ash. Donna dropped the vase in her hand and pressed them to her mouth as Evy ran to her side and put an arm over her shoulders to comfort her.

"Talk to me!" the Doctor shouted, running forward, his hands out, trying to stop and distract the creature, "That's all I want! Talk to me. Tell me who you are. Don't hurt these people."

Evy forced her mind to remain calm as she felt hands grab her and a rope forced into her mouth and tied behind her. She couldn't afford to distract the Doctor now, not when faced with what was most likely an adult Pyrovile. She glanced over to see a group of Sibylline Sisters pulling a struggling Donna out of the room and allowed herself to be pulled along with them. She wasn't about to let Donna get taken alone.

"Doctor!" she could hear Donna cry out, muffled, "Doctor!"

Evy kept her mind partially aware, making sure she was conscious of where they were going, but also keeping an eye on the Doctor, making sure he didn't get himself killed...because if he got incinerated by a Pyrovile she'd take the TARDIS back in time and kill him herself, paradox be damned.

She actually sighed in relief even as she was pulled into a temple and tied to a pillar, Quintus had splashed the Pyrovile with water, killing it. Almost as soon as that had happened the Doctor became aware that both she and Donna were missing.

' _Evy?_ ' he called out into her mind.

' _Doctor,_ ' she replied.

' _Where are you?_ '

' _The Sibylline Sisters took us,_ ' Evy answered, ' _We're in their temple._ '

She then proceeded to show him how to get there.

"Make sure that one remains bound," one of the sisters nodded at Evy, "She must not be allowed to call for help."

Evy scoffed silently at that, as though binding her mouth would keep her from reaching the Doctor.

"You have  _got_  to be kidding me," Donna shouted as she was tied to a sacrificial altar and the same priestess who had given the order stood beside her with a dagger.

"The false prophet will surrender both her blood and her breath," the priestess announced.

"I'll surrender you in a minute," Donna threatened, "Don't you dare!"

"You will be silent!"

"You might have eyes on the back of your hands but you'll have eyes in the back of your head by the time I finish with you! Let me...go!"

"This prattling will cease...forever!" the priestess raised the dagger above her head, ready to strike, when a new voice spoke.

"Oh, that'll be the day," the Doctor said, leaning against a pillar and watching.

"No man is allowed to enter the Temple of Sibyl," the priestess gasped, spinning to face him.

"Oh, that's alright, just us girls," he shrugged, walking forward. He headed straight to Evy, walking behind the pillar, flashing his sonic to free her as he passed.

"How did you know?" the priestess demanded, glaring at the Doctor.

Evy reached up and pulled the rope from her mouth, "That would be me," she smirked at the priestess, "You can silence my voice but you can't silence my mind. And I can shout pretty loud."

"Yeah, tell me about it," the Doctor joked, rubbing his head.

Evy shook her head at him and walked towards Donna, not at all worried about the Sisters as the Doctor was watching them carefully.

"Do you know, we met the Sibyl once," the Doctor told them, distracting them as Evy approached the altar, "Hell of a woman. Blimey, she could dance a tarantella. Truth be told, I think she had a bit of a thing for me. I said it would never last. She said, 'I know.' Well, she would."

Evy snorted, he had a bad sense of humor.  _She_  had been the one to introduce him to the Sibyl. Bit of girl bonding over talk of what was to come and the consequences of knowing. It was her opinion that the Sibyl found the Doctor irritating if the arguing they did was any indication, not to mention the knowing glances she had sent Evy the entire trip, she knew it wouldn't have worked even if she did like the Doctor.

"You alright?" Evy asked as she stepped next to Donna.

"Oh, never better," Donna replied sarcastically.

"I like the toga," the Doctor commented as Evy pulled out her sonic from where she'd stashed it behind her back, in the cords wrapped around her waist, and flashed the ropes, freeing her.

"Thank you," Donna grinned as Evy helped her up, before nodding at the Doctor as well, "And thank you."

"What magic is this?" the priestess demanded, staring at them in shock.

Evy flipped her sonic in her hand and slipped it back into the rope belt, turning to face the Sisters seriously. The Doctor watched on, a smile on his face, he knew what was coming, could see it in her mind. If he were being honest, it was quite a sight to see Evy put people in their place, Lord knew she did it to him enough.

"Let me tell you something about the Sibyl," Evy told them, her expression hard, "The founder of your religion. She would be so ashamed of you. So heartbroken to see all her wisdom and insight turned into this travesty. Is this how you spread her word? On the blade of a knife?"

"Yes..." the priestess replied, "A knife that now welcomes you!" she raised her knife, about to strike.

The Doctor jolted forward and made it to Evy's side as a weak voice echoed through the chamber, "Show me this man," the voice demanded, "And this woman."

They all turned towards a curtain behind them where the voice was coming from, the Sisters kneeling.

"High Priestess," the priestess spoke, "The strangers would defy us!"

"Let me see," the High Priestess ordered, "These two are different. They carry starlight in their wake."

The Doctor and Evy exchanged a look before nodding and stepping towards the curtain with Donna.

"Ah, very perceptive," the Doctor commented, "Where do these words of wisdom come from?"

"The gods whisper to me," the High Priestess told them.

"They've done far more than that," Evy commented sadly.

"Ah, might I...we beg audience, look upon the High Priestess?" the Doctor asked.

The curtains parted to reveal the High Priestess, sitting on a bed, her body nearly completely converted to stone.

"Oh my God!" Donna gasped, "What's happened to you?"

"The heavens have blessed me," the High Priestess said.

"If I might..." the Doctor motioned as though he wanted to step forward. The High Priestess raised her arm, allowing him to step closer. He walked forward, kneeling down to touch her arm, "Evy," he called, nodding his head.

Evy stepped forward as well, kneeling beside him and touching the arm, it was exactly like Evelina's, "Does it hurt?" she asked the woman.

"It is necessary," was all the High Priestess would say.

"Who told you that?" the Doctor frowned.

"The voices."

"Is that what's happening to Evelina?" Donna asked them before looking back at the Sisters, "Is this what's gonna happen to all of you?"

The priestess from before approached her slowly, pulling her sleeve back to reveal her own arm turning to stone, "The blessings are manifold."

"They're stone," Donna breathed, touching her arm and looking up to see the Doctor and Evy had stood and were watching.

"Exactly," the Doctor nodded, walking back to Donna with Evy, "The people of Pompeii are turning to stone before the volcano erupts. But why?"

"This word..." the High Priestess began, staring at the Doctor and Evy, "This image in your mind, this 'volcano,' what is that?"

"Better question, why don't  _you_  know about it?" Evy tilted her head to the side as she stared back.

"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded. They needed to be certain it was Pyroviles that were infecting the people and not just something they were guarding.

"High Priestess of the Sibylline," she replied.

"No, he meant the creature  _inside_  you," Evy corrected.

"The thing that's seeding itself into a human body, in the dust in the lungs..." the Doctor continued, "Taking over the flesh and turning it into...what?"

"Your knowledge is impossible," the High Priestess gasped.

"Oh, but you can read our minds. You know it's not. I demand you tell me who you are!"

"We...are...awakening!" the High Priestess said, her voice now sounding like there were more than one person speaking.

"The voice of the gods!" the priestess exclaimed.

"Words of wisdom, words of power," the Sisters chanted, "Words of wisdom, words of power."

"Name yourself!" the Doctor demanded, "Planet of origin, galactic coordinates, species designation according to the universal ratification of the Shadow Proclamation."

"We...are...rising!" the High Priestess stated, the echo in her voice still present.

"Just tell us your name!" Evy shouted

"Pyrovile!"

"Pyrovile," the Sisters chanted, "Pyrovile."

"What's a Pyrovile?" Donna asked.

"Well,  _that's_  a Pyrovile...growing inside her," the Doctor answered, "She's at the halfway stage."

"Well, and that turns into…"

"That thing in the villa," Evy replied, her eyes trained on the High Priestess, "Was an adult Pyrovile."

"And the breath of a Pyrovile will incinerate you, Doctor, and your women," the High Priestess promised.

The Doctor's eyes hardened at the threat, "I warn you...I'm armed," he pulled out a water pistol, "Evy, Donna, get that grille open."

"What are..." Donna began but Evy had turned and pulled her towards it.

"What are the Pyrovile doing here?" the Doctor asked the High Priestess as Evy and Donna got to work at the hypocaust, Evy flashing it with her sonic.

"We fell from the heavens," she said, "We fell so far and so fast we were rendered into dust."

"Right, creatures of stone shatter on impact. When was that, seventeen years ago?"

"We have slept beneath for thousands of years."

"Okay, so seventeen years ago woke you up and now you're using human bodies to reconstitute yourself, but why the psychic powers?"

"We opened their minds and found such gifts."

"Yeah, okay, fine," he said, getting just a bit frustrated, "You force yourself inside a human brain, use the latent psychic talent to bond. I get that. I get that. Yeah, but...seeing the future, that is way beyond psychic, you can see through time. Where does the gift of prophecy come from?"

"Doctor!" Evy shouted as she and Donna threw the grille to the floor.

"Now get down!" he shouted back, moving towards them, the pistol still aimed at the quasi-Pyrovile.

"What, down there?" Donna frowned.

"Yes, down there!" he turned back to the High Priestess, "Why can't this lot predict the volcano? Why is it being hidden?"

"Sisters, I see into his mind!" the priestess shouted, "The weapon is harmless."

"Yeah, but it's got a sting!" he shot some water straight at the High Priestess who cried out in agony, "Get down there!"

He ran to the hypocaust as Evy half pushed Donna down into it. He nodded at Evy who dropped through it, followed closely by him.

"You fought her off with a water pistol," Donna breathed as she pushed herself up, "I bloody  _love_  you."

"This way!" the Doctor called, reaching out to help Evy up and taking off down the tunnels.

"Where are we going now?"

"Into the volcano," Evy answered.

"No way," she shook her head frantically.

"Yes way," the Doctor twirled the pistol around his finger, "Appian way."

"Don't," Evy shook her head, "Don't do that."

"What?" he pouted.

Evy just rolled her eyes and took the lead, pulling him through the tunnels.

"But if it's aliens setting off the volcano, doesn't that make it alright?" Donna asked them after a moment, "For you to stop it?"

"Still part of history," the Doctor replied.

"Well, I'm history too. You saved me in 2008. You saved us all. Why is that different?"

"Some things are fixed, some are in flux," Evy answered, "Pompeii is fixed."

"How do you know which is which?"

"Because that's how we see the Universe," the Doctor stopped suddenly, turning them to face her, "Every waking second, we can see what is, what was, what could be, what must not."

"That's the curse of the Time Lords, Donna," Evy replied, and for the first time Donna could see the tears and strain in her eyes, she didn't want this to happen anymore than Donna did, "To see what  _must_  happen, even when it's a terrible thing to happen."

The Doctor turned and began to walk off, "How many people died?" Donna asked.

"Stop it!" he called back over his shoulder.

"Doctor!" Donna snapped, but he ignored her, so she turned to Evy, "How many people died?"

"20,000," she replied.

"Is that what you can see? All 20,000? And you think that's alright, do you?"

"Donna," Evy began, her voice shaking, "Think about it like this. If we stop the volcano, what happens then? 20,000 people live, Pompeii rises to defeat the Roman Empire! If the Empire falls before the barbarians invade, before they have time to integrate their culture, then the Medieval Era never happens, some of the greatest advancements in science and medicine are never made. If the civilization that was born from those events never expands past Italy, you don't get England, you don't get America, events that will shape the entire course of human existence will  _never_  occur."

Donna frowned, she really hadn't thought of that, but still, the thought that all 20,000 had to die for that to happen…

A screech echoed through the tunnel, "They know we're here!" Evy shouted, grabbing Donna's arm and pulling her down the tunnel till they reached the Doctor crouching down by a jut of rocks.

"It's the heart of Vesuvius," he explained as they knelt beside him, all the Pyroviles walking around, "We're right inside the mountain."

"There's tons of 'em," Donna breathed.

"What's that thing?" Evy asked, pointing to something across the cavern. The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a small collapsible telescope.

"Well, you'd better hurry up and think of something. Rocky IV's on its way."

"That's how they arrived..." the Doctor whispered, seeing the inside of a ship, "Or what's left of it. Escape pod? Prison ship? Gene bank?" he collapsed the telescope and put it away.

"But why do they need a volcano? Maybe...it erupts and they launch themselves back in space or something."

"No, it's worse than that," Evy sighed, seeing what the Doctor was thinking, what he was working out in his mind.

"How can it be  _worse_?" she demanded as a Pyrovile roared, "It's getting closer."

"Heathens!" someone shouted. They looked over to see Lucius standing there, higher in the cavern, "Defilers! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"

"Come on!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing Evy's hand as the three of them ran across the cavern floor.

"We can't go in!" Donna shouted as they headed towards the pod.

"We can't exactly go back can we?" Evy argued.

"Crush them!" Lucius called, "Burn them!"

A Pyrovile suddenly rose in front of them, roaring. They jumped back, the Doctor immediately pulling out his water pistol and spraying it. The Pyrovile shied away, giving them just enough space to run past.

"There is nowhere to run, Children of Gallifrey..." Lucius yelled after them, "And Daughter of London."

They ran to the front of the pod and stopped to face Lucius, "Now then, Lucius," the Doctor called, "My lord Pyrovillian...don't get yourselves in a lava," he grinned, looking back at Donna and Evy who both looked unimpressed, "In a lava...no?"

"No," Donna said simply as Evy just shook her head.

"No," he frowned, before turning to Lucius again, "But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish...once this new race of creatures is complete...then what?"

The Pyrovile walked towards them, crushing boulders in its path as Lucius spoke, "My masters will follow the example of Rome itself, an almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilization."

"But if you've crashed..." Donna began, "And you've got all this technology, why don't you just go home?"

"The heaven of Pyrovillia is gone."

"What do you mean 'gone?'" Evy frowned.

"Where's it gone?" the Doctor asked.

"It was taken," Lucius replied, "Pyrovillia is lost. But there is heat enough in this world for our new species to rise."

"Yeah, I should warn you, it's 70 percent water out there."

"Water can boil and everything will burn, Doctor!" Lucius laughed.

The Doctor put the pistol away, the grim reality of it all settling down, "Then the whole planet is at stake. Thank you, that's all I needed to know."

He turned, he and Evy pushing Donna into the pod. Evy flashed her sonic at the door, sealing it behind them.

"You have them, my lords!" they could hear Lucius shout as they turned to face the main controls.

"Could we  _be_  any more trapped?" Donna asked them when the pod suddenly started to get warm, "Little bit hot."

"See, the energy converted takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix which wields Pyrovile to human," the Doctor explained quickly, more to Evy than Donna, knowing she would be able to help him think of what to do.

"They've completed it though, they can convert millions," Evy shook her head, looking at the controls before getting to work.

It was too late.

"Well, can you change it...with these controls?" Donna asked.

"'Course we can, but don't you see?" the Doctor turned to face her, " _That's_  why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyroviles are stealing all its power. They're gonna use it to take over the world."

"But you can change it back."

The Doctor looked at Evy as she stepped back from setting the controls for what they both knew they would have to do, "I averted the system," she sighed, "The volcano will blow them up but...that's the choice, Donna. It's Pompeii or the world."

"Oh my God," she gasped in shock.

"If Pompeii is destroyed, then it's not just history, it's me," the Doctor said, the weight of it all falling on him, "I make it happen."

"No," Evy turned to face him, taking his hands in her own, " _We_  make it happen Doctor," she looked up at him seriously, staring right in his eyes, "It's not just up to  _you_. It's not just  _your_ burden to carry, not anymore," she squeezed his hands, interlocking their fingers.

"But the Pyroviles are made of rock," Donna tried to argue, seeing them preparing to decimate the city, "Maybe they can't be blown up."

"Vesuvius explodes with the force of 24 nuclear bombs," the Doctor said, still staring at Evy, touched that she was willing to share this burden with him, that she wanted to take some of the blame from him, ease his soul, "Nothing can survive it."

"Not even us," Evy told her.

"Never mind us," Donna remarked softly.

The Doctor turned, looked at the lever, and put his hand on it, though the way Evy had interlocked their hands, his hand brought hers up to rest on it as well, "Push this lever and it's all over. 20,000 people."

He stared at the lever, more unwilling to push it than ever before. Evy squeezed his hand lightly, sending him her strength. But as he looked at her, he realized it was a hard decision for her as well.

Donna frowned, seeing them struggling with the enormity of what they were going to do in the course of saving the planet. She reached out and put her hands on theirs, tears in her eyes. They all looked at each other before pressing it down.

The ground began to shake terribly, throwing them around the pod before they felt themselves ejected out with the erupting volcano. It was a very painful experience, being flung around, even worse than flying in the TARDIS, which was saying something.

And suddenly...it was over.

They were thrown to the floor with one final jolt and the pod door opened. They immediately climbed out.

"It was an escape pod," the Doctor determined as they looked behind them to see the volcano now spewing ash and lava.

He grabbed Evy's hand who grabbed Donna and they were off, running as fast as they could back to the city. They reached the center of it as ash began to fall around them. It was close, they people would begin suffocating soon.

"Don't!" Donna shouted at the people running around them in a panic. Most were heading to their houses or shops, trying to get indoors, others running towards the water with boats, "Don't go to the beach! Don't go to the beach, go to the hills! Listen to me! Don't go to the beach, it's not safe! Listen to me..." she turned around to see a little boy crying and ran to him, "Come here."

But another woman ran forward and snatched the child away, "Give him to me!"

Donna looked around at the people ignoring her, crying, absolutely devastated. Evy stepped forward, taking her hand in her own, "Come on," she whispered to the woman, tugging her back towards the Doctor as they began to run towards Caecilius's villa once again.

They ran into the villa to see the family huddled together against the wall, the ceiling caving in around the house.

"Gods save us, Doctor!" Caecilius shouted.

The Doctor stared at them a moment before running towards the TARDIS, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her with him.

"You can't!" Donna shouted, seeing them opening the TARDIS, "Evy! Doctor! You can't!"

She ran after them, following them into the TARDIS. She saw them standing at the console, just finishing up the instructions to dematerialize.

"You can't just _leave_  them!" she shouted, in tears.

"Don't you think we've done enough?" the Doctor snapped, "History's back in place and everyone dies."

"You've got to go back!" Donna cried, her voice thick with emotion, "Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back!"

Evy reached out and released the brake, starting the dematerialization process as the Doctor watched, emotionless.

"It's not fair..." Donna said brokenly.

"No, it's not," the Doctor agreed, pulling Evy to his side, hugging her, resting his forehead against the top of her head. Evy closed her eyes, squeezing him to her as she sensed what he was doing. He was trying to find solace in the fact that it wasn't just  _his_  mind telling him to do it, that  _she understood_ , that she agreed it was the right thing to do even if it didn't feel like it.

' _There's a difference between what is right and what is easy,_ ' she whispered to him. Easy would have been to let the Pyroviles live, let everyone live, even if it would have led to a horrible future. What was right, was to leave the fixed point as it was, as they had been taught. She did understand.

"But your own planet," Donna tried again, "It burned!"

"That's just it," the Doctor pulled away to glare at the woman, "Don't you see, Donna? Can't you  _understand_? If we could go back and save them then we would, but we can't. We can never go back! We can't! We just...can't!" his voice grew softer, "We  _can't_."

"Just someone," she begged, "Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone."

The Doctor looked at her.

Evy frowned and looked down, 20,000 people died, but the town  _had_  to be larger than 20,000, "It's a stretch," she mumbled quietly, though they could all hear her. The Doctor turned to face her as she looked up at him, "It would be a  _huge_   _stretch_ …but…few survived Pompeii, meaning someone had to."

~8~

The TARDIS rematerialized inside Caecilius's villa only moments after it had disappeared. The family looked up to see the blue box return to its place, bright lights shining from the inside. The doors opened to reveal Evy and the Doctor standing there.

"Come with us," the Doctor said as he held out his hand to the family, Caecilius reached out and grasped his hand as Evy stepped out to help his wife up.

~8~

They stood on a hill just outside the city, watching as a cloud of ash and smoke flew over the town as though devouring it.

Donna stood at the edge of the hill with Caecilius, Metella, Evelina, and Quintus, watching. The Doctor stood in the background, his arm around Evy's waist, resting his head against her own as they watched silently.

"It's never forgotten Caecilius," Evy said quietly after a moment. Caecilius looked back at them, "Time passes, men move on, and the stories fade, but one day...Pompeii  _will_  be found again...in thousands of years...and  _everyone_  will remember you."

"What about you, Evelina?" Donna asked the girl, "Can you see anything?"

"The visions have gone," Evelina replied.

"The explosion was so powerful, it cracked open a rift in time," the Doctor explained, "Just for a second. That's what gave you the gift of prophecy. It echoed back into the Pyrovillian alternative. But not anymore. You're free."

"But tell me..." Metella turned to face them, "Who are you, Doctor? Evy? With your words...and your temple containing such size within?"

"Oh, we were never here," the Doctor tried to grin, but it came out as a small smile, "Don't tell anyone."

"The great go Vulcan must be enraged," Caecilius muttered, stepping forward with his wife, "It's so volcanic. It's like some sort of...volcano," his voice broke, "All those people..."

He turned and hugged his wife as Quintus took hold of his sister's hand. The Doctor and Evy turned and slipped into the TARDIS, Donna giving the family just one more look before following the Time Lords.

They were at the console again, standing there, waiting for her, "Thank you."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded slowly, "You were right. Sometimes…I need someone."

Evy smiled warmly at Donna, "Welcome aboard."

Donna swallowed hard, "Yeah," she gave them a tense smile and turned to head off to her room, still shaking from what had just happened.

"I'll go check on her," Evy told the Doctor after a moment as he nodded and got to the controls.

She walked quietly through the halls and stopped outside the room they'd asked the TARDIS to make for Donna. She knocked softly before entering to see Donna sitting on the edge of her bed with her back to the door.

"You alright?" she asked, walking in to sit beside her.

Donna sighed, "I…I think I will be...some day."

"Good," Evy smiled understandingly, reaching out to hug the woman from the side.

"What about you?"

"Fine," she replied with a small shrug.

Donna frowned, "Not…not about what happened, but…" she hesitated.

Evy frowned, "What?"

"It's about something Lucius said," Donna admitted. Evy gave her shoulder a squeeze signaling for her to go on, "He said you were hurt…um, there was a...pain...surrounding your hearts."

Evy nodded slowly, before sighing, "Donna, there's something the Doctor and I haven't told you about us, well, about me."

"Go on," Donna said after a moment of silence.

"There's a process on Gallifrey called Linking," she explained, "It's an instant connection that is formed between a Time Lord and Lady who are...compatible to each other, that's the Doctor and me. You see Donna, when we are fatally injured or close to dying, we don't, we heal and we change, into completely different people. But there's a part of our consciousness, it's said, that transcends time and space in order to find another who fits each and every change we go through perfectly. Every incarnation the Doctor will go through will fit perfectly to me, just as each of mine fit to him.

"It's…it's like a gift, being re-gifted. It could be in a different packaging, different wrapping, different boxes or containers, but the gift is always the same. That's us. Our core beliefs, who we are deep down, that never changes. It may come about in different ways or never at all, but it's there. And only your Link can see that deep down into your soul to see who you truly are," she smiled softly to herself in thought, "And there's only one person for us as our Link. The Doctor could have a twin, who's exactly like him in appearance, personality, voice, mannerisms, everything, and I would still only be Linked with the Doctor. I'd..." she sighed, "I'd still only love him.

"Linking can go any number of ways. We can develop feelings of a platonic nature, a sibling-like nature, or romantic. More often than not, a romantic feeling develops between Time Lord and Lady," she laughed softly, "To be THAT connected to another person, especially if that person is as incredible as the Doctor..." she smiled, "It's no wonder I love him," she blinked and shook her head, trying to get back to point, "Linking gives us a deep metal connection, we can hear each other's thoughts at all times, unless we consciously and forcefully try to block them and even then it's difficult to maintain it for too long. We can feel each other's emotions, again, unless we really try to hide them. We can physically feel them, their pain, it's how we are able to sense that they are alive. We can hide almost nothing from our Link, we're completely open and connected in every way..."

"That sounds lovely," Donna smiled softly. She could see it as Evy spoke, the love and care she held for the Doctor. She really did love the man, quite a bit it seemed.

"It is," Evy agreed, her smile fading to a sad one.

"What's wrong?" Donna frowned.

"I'm Linked to the Doctor," she replied, "But he's not Linked to me. This…" she held up her hourglass necklace, "It's got a device on it that is keeping him from establishing the Link…" she held up her hand at Donna about to start questioning her, "It's a complicated story, but it comes down to the fact that he's not ready to Link to me and I'm not going to force him to."

Donna nodded in understanding. She could understand the pain that could bring. She'd hounded Lance, her ex-husband-to-be, trying to get him to agree to marry her, pushing him before he was clearly ready. He truly hadn't wanted to marry her, giving in only as a way to keep her around for a sinister plot. It had only ended with her being hurt in the end.

"The…the pain Lucius was talking about, it comes from a partial Link," she began, trying to keep her thoughts blocked so the Doctor wouldn't hear her words in his mind, "It…it feels like...like I'm empty, like I'm missing a piece of myself that I can't find no matter how much I look, it…it's painful at times. Especially when he…when he develops feelings for other women. The Link reminds me that he's supposed to be  _mine_ , that he's meant for  _me_  and that he's not with me, he's with someone else," she looked down at her hands, trying to find the words to describe it, "It's like I'm numb and cold and…and lost. Like there's a hole in my heart that just gets larger over time, and  _so much_  time has passed…" she swallowed hard, "We have two hearts, remember?" she looked at Donna who nodded, recalling what they'd told her about Time Lords, tears in her eyes as she tried to imagine the pain her friend was living with, "One heart is for time and space, the Universe, for everything in it, for our friends, our family, all the planets and species. The other, the other one is meant to be for our Link," she smiled softly, "Can you imagine how powerfully and completely we can sometimes come to love our Link? If one heart alone can hold the Universe in it?"

"It must make the pain that much greater," Donna commented quietly.

Evy could only nod. Donna reached out and hugged her friend to her.

So lost in her thoughts was Evy that she didn't even notice the Doctor lingering in the doorway behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Naughty, naughty Doctor eavesdropping like that. Tsk, tsk, tsk. But now he knows more about Evy, this series is really about him getting to know her, notice her, and see where his feelings go (or grow) from there. It'll just get better from here :) I wonder what he'll do now?
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor is conflicted and Donna makes an observation not even the Doctor noticed.


	8. Planet of the Ood (Part 1)

The Doctor waited patiently in the TARDIS till Evy went to sleep before he put up his mental shields. It was the only safe time for him to put them up, when she wasn't conscious of him doing so, when she wasn't aware of the silence. He'd been carefully guarding his thoughts until this had happened, he didn't want to risk thinking about what he was about to with her able to hear his thoughts. Because of the Link she would know if he was hiding something when she suddenly couldn't hear him in her mind. They could bury their thoughts, deep in the back of thier minds, and Links typically wouldn't push too far to read such thoughts. The mental aspect of the Link itself was a more direct, powerful connection from one mind to another. It just meant that the mental shields had to be more powerful, stronger, to block a Link than would be needed for any other person on their planet. They could hide some things after a time. He knew that, for now, it would have to do. During the actual Linking process the minds of the Time Lord and Lady would be completely open, nothing hidden, with every memory, experience, emotion, thought, passing from one mind to the other. After that it was possible to keep some thoughts private which was what he needed to do now.

He'd heard her talking with Donna a while ago about exactly how she felt with the partial Link between him and her. He hadn't even thought about how it had to be for her to live that way. Whenever he looked at her the Perception Filter kept him from Linking to her, in a way, it was almost easy to forget she  _was_  his Link. It was almost easy to forget she was Linked to him. He couldn't help but think about how things were on Gallifrey. Partial Links almost never came about, most of their people remained unattached to any other person until they met their Link. It made things less complicated when the actual Link occurred to not be in another intimate relationship.

He shook his head, even then he'd been of the persuasion, like a few others he knew, that he would never find his Link. He didn't know why he felt that way but he just...did. Perhaps he'd thought he just couldn't be that lucky. He'd met Riku, a Time Lady, who didn't believe she'd find her Link either. And they had been together for a time…

He frowned, Evy had said she'd been Linked to him  _just_  before he left Gallifrey…and now he knew when, when he'd come to her house, her brother's house, in search of his best friend after he'd lost Riku and his son. He had to be grateful she hadn't Linked to him before Riku had died. The Link, especially for those in whom romantic feelings developed, could be brutal if infidelity occurred, rare though it was. The act of physically being with another, giving a part of your heart and mind to another...it was seen as a rejection of the Link, it was painful...and he was so relieved Evy hadn't been subjected to that sort of pain.

But then again, there was Rose.

Granted nothing had happened between the two, but Evy was well aware of how he felt about his first companion after the war. She probably knew the stirrings of feelings he'd felt for others who went travelling with him even before the war.

God, how that must have hurt her. How just the entire thing must have hurt. Links were all about connection and reciprocation, they were meant to be completed, to go both ways. A partial Link was hard for the Linked party to bear as they were  _constantly_  aware that the connection was incomplete. They could feel that it ended somewhere.

Just the thought that Evy had suffered with it for so long…he couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. And he knew, she would continue to live with it until he was ready to connect to her. It wouldn't be so bad, being Linked to her. Just the few things he knew about her, about how she was, what he could sense she was truly like…she was an amazing person.

But so was Rose.

He'd been torn between getting to know Evy and pushing her away to hold onto Rose. There would be times when he would reach out to Evy and find comfort and peace in her, a similarity and understanding that Rose, as a human, could never provide. And other times, Evy would do something that reminded him of Rose and his heart would give a painful zing as he felt like he was betraying Rose…and then his other heart would zing at the thought that he was now betraying Evy.

He was walking a thin rope right now. He'd already lost Rose, one wrong move and he could lose Evy as well…and right now, he honestly wasn't sure which was worse. Evy had wormed her way into his hearts without him even realizing it, even when he'd thought she was human. She'd become  _so_  important to him. Maybe it had been when he realized she was a Time Lady, maybe during the Year-That-Never-Was, maybe it was even when he'd first met her…he didn't know. But she was _there_  and he wasn't sure he wanted her out.

He smiled softly to himself, he couldn't see where all this was going to go or how it would end…but he couldn't wait to find out.

~8~

Evy was laughing heartily as the TARDIS rocked back and forth, sending Donna and the Doctor, who didn't have enough sense to grab onto the console, running from the walls to the console in an effort to keep balance.

It quickly stilled though as it landed, leaving them to straighten themselves up.

"Set the controls to random!" the Doctor shouted, "Mystery tour. Outside that door could be any planet, anywhere, any when in the whole wide…"

"You alright Donna?" Evy cut in, seeing Donna breathing hard and looking quite stiff.

"Terrified," she breathed, "I mean, history's one thing, but an alien planet..."

Evy smiled, after the debacle in Pompeii, she had convinced the Doctor to go to the moon landing once more. It seemed to be one of the few trips where things  _didn't_  tend to go wrong. Donna had been astounded. And after that, they had taken her to see the coronations of all the English monarchs…well,  _she_  had taken her to see Victoria and Elizabeth's, the Doctor was a bit hesitant from seeing the women who would one day come to wish him killed on sight. Evy had just grinned and proceeded to tell Donna the entire story as to why, and her own wonderings why, the women were after the Doctor's blood, he'd actually been blushing when they came back to the TARDIS, having heard the whole thing in his mind.

"We could always take you home," the Doctor shrugged, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, don't laugh at me," Donna warned him playfully.

"I know what it's like," he commented, hands in his pockets, "Everything you're feeling right now. The fear, the joy, the wonder…I get that!"

"Seriously?" Donna's eyes went wide, "After all this time?"

"Why do you think he keeps going?" Evy reasoned, stepping around the console to join them, "Even when I BEG him to give us a day off?" she nudged him jokingly.

"Oh!" she nodded, "Alright, then, you and me both! This is barmy!" she ran to the door as the Doctor tossed Evy her coat and put his own on, "I was born in Chiswick. I've only ever done package holidays. Now I'm here. This is…I mean, it's…I dunno. It's all so…I don't even know what the word is!" she pushed open the TARDIS doors and ran outside.

Evy bit back a laugh as she saw white through the door and snow falling on the howling wind.

"Oh, I've got the word," Donna called, "'Freezing.'"

Evy stepped out of the TARDIS, the Doctor right behind her, looking up with a smile on his face, "Snow! Ah! Real snow! Proper snow at last! That's more like it. Lovely. What do you think?" he grinned down at Evy.

"Brilliant," Evy smiled, "Donna?"

"Bit cold," Donna shivered.

"Look at the view!" the Doctor turned to see an icy, snow covered landscape.

"Yep. A beautiful...cold...view."

"Millions of planets, millions of galaxies, and we're on  _this_  one! Molto bene!"

"Belissimo!" Evy laughed, joining in on his Italian.

"Says Donna, born in Chiswick," he began, stepping away from the TARDIS and the girls to look around, "You've had a life of work and sleep, telly and rent, takeaway dinners, birthdays and Christmases, and two weeks holiday a year and then you end up here! Donna Noble, citizen of the Earth, standing on a different planet. How about that, Donna?" he turned around to see Donna nowhere to be found and Evy leaning against the corner of the TARDIS, "Donna?" he asked her.

"Just grabbing a coat," Evy nodded back just as the doors opened and Donna stepped out wearing a thick, warm coat with a fur-lined hood.

"Sorry," Donna looked between them, "You were saying?"

"Better?" Evy asked.

"Lovely, thanks," Donna nodded as she and Evy started walking towards the Doctor. Donna wasn't sure how Evy could bear the chill, wearing just a brown dress and green leggings with her thin coat on but she knocked if off as Time Lady biology.

"Comfy?" the Doctor called as they drew closer.

"Yep," Donna grinned.

"Can you hear anything inside that?"

"Pardon?" Donna leaned forward as though she had actually had a hard time hearing him.

Evy laughed.

"Right," the Doctor grinned, "I was saying, citizen of the Earth…"

Just then a rocket flew over them.

Evy laughed harder at the Doctor's putout expression. He did so love his dramatic monologues.

"A rocket!" Donna gasped, "Blimey, a real, proper rocket. Now  _that's_  what I call a spaceship," she slapped the Doctor on his arm, "You've got a box, he's got a Ferrari. Come on, let's see where it's going."

Donna ran off, leaving the Doctor looking surprised and even a bit upset as he glanced back at the TARDIS. He turned to see Evy grinning and shaking her head.

"What?" he asked, still sad at the slight against his beloved box.

She stepped forward and linked her arm with his own, "Just think…if that's a Ferrari…what's Jack's Vortex Manipulator?"

The Doctor paused in thought before letting out a deep laugh. Evy smiled wider, seeing him feeling better, tugging his arm to get him started after Donna.

They had just caught up with Donna, the ginger just laughing at the sheer excitement of being on an alien world, when Evy stopped suddenly, pulling the Doctor to a stop as well. He looked at her, confused, seeing her smile fading and a sorrowful look replacing it.

' _What's the matter?_ ' he asked her silently so as not to interrupt Donna's joy.

' _Can't you hear it?_ ' she replied, looking up at him.

He frowned and really listened a moment, a soft ethereal music filtering through his mind.

"Hold on…" the Doctor murmured, turning to see Donna still smiling and looking around, "Can you hear that?" he called out to her, "Donna, take your hood down."

Donna lowered her hood, "What?"

"The noise…" Evy breathed, "The song..."

Donna frowned, not too sure what they were talking about.

"Over there!" the Doctor shouted, pointing at something in the distance. He broke into a run with Evy towards a figure half buried in the snow.

"What is it?" Donna gasped as Evy and the Doctor knelt on one side of the figure and she dropped down on the other side. It was a pale alien, withe a slightly large head, tentacles around its mouth, dressed in a gray suit-like outfit, holding a small orb in its hand with a wire that connected it to within the tentacles.

"An Ood," Evy replied, resting a hand on the Ood's arm, almost feeling its pain through its song, "He's called an Ood."

The Doctor pulled out his stethoscope and pressing it against the Ood.

"But its face..." Donna breathed, staring at it.

"Donna, not now," the Doctor chastised lightly, "It's a 'he,' not an 'it.' Give me a hand."

"Sorry," Donna frowned.

"I don't know where the heart is," he muttered, moving the stethoscope around, "I don't know if he's  _got_  a heart," he looked up at Donna and Evy, "Talk to him. Keep him going."

"It's alright," Donna soothed, placing a hand on the Ood's hand, "We've got you."

"What's your name?" Evy asked gently.

"Designated Ood Delta 50," he replied, the small ball in his hand lighting up.

Donna picked up the ball and held it to her mouth, "My name's Donna."

"You don't need to do that," Evy said quietly, reaching out to lower Donna's arm.

"Sorry," Donna placed the ball back down on the Ood, "Oh, God…"

"This is the Doctor," Evy introduced, laying a hand on the Doctor's arm for a moment, "I'm Evy."

"That's just what you need," Donna smiled down at the Ood, "A doctor. Couldn't be better, eh?"

"You've been shot!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"The circle…" the Ood began.

"No, don't try to talk," Donna laid a hand on his arm.

"The circle must be broken."

"The circle?" Evy tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?"

The Ood's eyes fluttered.

"Delta 50, what circle?" the Doctor asked quickly, "Delta 50? What circle?"

Suddenly Delta 50's eyes snapped open, blood red. Evy grabbed the Doctor's arm, pulling him back as they scrambled to get Donna away as well. Delta 50 sat up, growling at them. It looked as though he was about to lunge at them when the growl faded and he collapsed into the snow, dead.

Evy let out a breath of relief before turning and resting her head against the Doctor's arm.

"He's gone," Donna gasped, walking towards the body.

"Careful," the Doctor warned gently, his arm making its way around Evy's waist, seeking comfort in her as he too heard the mournful song of the Ood resonating around them. The others were aware of Delta 50's death.

Donna placed a hand on the Ood's chest, "There you are sweetheart," she stroked his head, "We were too late. What do we do, do we bury him?" she looked up at them, tears in her eyes.

"The snow will take care of that."

"Who was he?" Donna asked, glancing down at the Ood again, "What's an Ood?"

"They're servants of humans in the 42nd century. Mildly telepathic."

"That song," Evy mumbled, "It was his mind calling out."

"I couldn't hear anything," Donna sighed, standing up, "He sang as he was dying."

"His eyes turned red," the Doctor mumbled, lost in thought, unconsciously running his fingers through Evy's hair, stroking it.

"What's that mean?" Donna asked, torn between mourning the Ood and smiling at the endearing sight before her.

"Trouble," the Doctor replied, seeming to snap out of his thoughts, stepping away from Evy, "Come on."

He reached out to take Evy's hand and suddenly Donna tensed.

"What?" Evy frowned, seeing Donna stiffen.

"Where are we running to?" she asked seriously, "Which direction?"

"What?" Evy shook her head, even more confused.

Donna sighed and straightened up, "Every time he takes your hand it's to pull you into a run," she told them, rolling her eyes, she'd noticed them do it loads of times, "I just want to be ready for it this time."

The Doctor looked at Evy who looked back equally as shocked by Donna's observation. Had they really done that? The Doctor looked down at Evy's hand, locked in his, and thought back to the last few adventures they'd shared with Donna. He looked up, surprised, he  _had_  taken Evy's hand whenever they were running somewhere. He was even more stunned by the notion that he'd often done that out of instinct, because it was his way of pulling her out of danger.

"Oh, right," the Doctor nodded, still a bit lost in thought.

"We're not running," Evy turned to Donna, "Not now at least."

"Well good," Donna nodded, "'Cos you lot run a lot. I mean, seriously."

Evy smiled at her, nudging the Doctor to get him walking, though he was still thoughtful.

"The Ood are usually harmless and completely benign," Evy turned to explain to Donna as they walked.

"Except the last time I met them," the Doctor added, "There was this...force, like a stronger mind, powerful enough to take them over."

Evy frowned as she recalled that trip.

"What sort of force?" Donna asked.

"Long story," the Doctor tried to wave her off, but Donna wouldn't have it.

"Long walk."

"It was the devil."

"If you're gonna take the mickey I'll just put my hood back up."

"Well you stopped it last time," Evy thought out loud, her mind still replaying the Doctor's last encounter with the Ood, "It's got to be something different this time, something closer."

"Ah ha!" the Doctor shouted, seeing something over the horizon, "Civilization!"

The trio jogged over to see the base of some sort of business, Ood Operations.

~8~

The trio had just managed to weasel their way past security with the use of the Doctor's psychic paper and were now running towards a group of people standing just outside the complex.

"My name's Solana, Head of Marketing," they could hear someone introducing herself, "I'm sure we've all spoken on the vid-phone," it was an Indian woman in a black dress, "Now if you'd like to follow me…"

"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor shouted as they ran up, "We're late! Don't mind us! Hello. The guards let us through."

"And you would be…" Solana looked at them.

"The Doctor, Donna Noble, and Evy Daniels," the Doctor introduced, holding up the psychic paper.

"Representing the Noble Corporation, PLC Limited, Intergalactic," Donna added.

"Must have fallen off my list," Solana nodded slowly, "My apologies, it won't happen again. Now then, Ms. Daniels, Dr. Noble, Mrs. Noble, if you'd like to come with me."

"Oh, no, no, no," the Doctor shook his head frantically, "We're not married."

"We're  _so_  not married," Donna agreed.

"Never," the Doctor glanced at Evy who was just rolling her eyes at the mistake.

"Never ever," Donna finished.

"Of course," Solana nodded, "Here is your information pack. Vouchers inside," she handed the Doctor a packet, "Now, if you'd like to come with me, the executive suites are nice and warm..."

Suddenly an alarm blared and they paused.

"Ooh, what's that?" the Doctor asked, "Sounds like an alarm."

"It's just a siren for the end of the work shift," Solana assured them, though the tension in her voice did not go unnoticed by Evy or the Doctor, "Now then, this way! Quick as you can!"

The Doctor and Evy shared a quick look before they headed inside with Donna, the other men and women following behind.

~8~

The Ood were on small pedestals in a display room where Solana was standing in front of a large screen covering the wall behind her. She had been going on and on about the qualities of the Ood and the services that they could perform.

"As you can see, the Ood are happy to serve and we keep them in facilities of the highest standards," she carried on with her presentation, "Here at the Double-O, that's Ood Operations, we like to think of the Ood as our trusted friends. We keep the Ood healthy, safe, and educated. We don't just breed the Ood, we make them better. Because at heart, what is an Ood...but an extension of us? If your Ood is happy...then you'll be happy too."

The men and women around the room, Ood buyers, began to applaud.

"This is all rather unsettling, isn't it?" Evy asked the Doctor and Donna quietly, "The way she's speaking…it's like something out of an Earth concentration camp or a slave trade or something, covering up what's really happening by claiming it's for the best, hiding the horrors of it."

The Doctor couldn't help but agree with her. That was  _exactly_  how it sounded.

"I'd now like to point out a new innovation from Ood Operations," Solana stepped towards the three Ood on the pedestals, "We've introduced a variety package with the Ood translator ball. You can now have the standard setting…" she walked over to the first Ood, "How are you today, Ood?"

"I'm perfectly well, thank you," the Ood replied in what they assumed was a generic voice.

"Or perhaps after a stressful day, a little something for the gentlemen?" she moved to the second Ood, "How are you, Ood?"

"All the better for seeing you," the Ood replied in a sultry, female voice.

"Well, that's more than a bit disturbing," Evy mumbled. Donna nudged her, a smile on her face.

"And the comedy classic option," Solana moved to the last Ood, "Ood, you dropped something."

"D'oh!" he replied in an imitation of Homer Simpson.

The audience chuckled.

"All that for only five additional credits," Solana turned to the buyers, "The details are in your brochures. Now, there's plenty more food and drink, so don't hold back."

The Doctor glanced around at the buyers, making sure they were distracted, before pulling on his brainy specs and heading over to the control board. He flipped a switch, putting in a coordinate or two until a projection of their location in the galaxy came up on a large screen.

Evy moved over, making room for Donna as she arrived with a drink.

"The Ood-Sphere," the Doctor commented, looking at the screen, "I've been to this solar system before, years ago. Ages. Close to the planet Sense-Sphere. Let's widen it out..." he flipped another switch.

"4126," Evy read off the projection, "The Second Great and Bountiful Human Empire."

"4126?" Donna breathed, "It's 4126? I'm in 4126?"

"It's good, isn't it?" the Doctor glanced at her.

"What's the Earth like now?" Donna stared at the projection.

" _Very_  full, but you look," Evy punched in an instruction, red lines appeared on the screen, circling the three galaxies, "The Empire stretches out across three galaxies."

"It's weird. I mean, it's brilliant, but...back home, the papers and the telly, they keep saying we haven't got long to live, global warming, flooding, all the bees disappearing."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, "That thing about the bees is odd."

"But look at us," she shook her head, staring at the screen, "We're everywhere. Is that good or bad, though? I mean, are we like explorers or more like a virus?"

"Sometimes I wonder," the Doctor mumbled.

"What are the red dots?"

"Ood distribution centers," Evy replied.

"Across three galaxies?" Donna frowned, "Don't the Ood get a say in this?" she turned and strode over to the first Ood, "Um...sorry, but..." she tapped it gently, "Hello. Tell me, are you all like this?"

"I do not understand, miss," the Ood answered politely.

"Why do you say, 'miss?' Do I look single?"

"Single and sexy," Evy replied, smirking, earning a smile from Donna.

"Back to the point," the Doctor nudged them gently.

"Yeah," Donna turned back to the Ood, "What I mean is, are there any free Ood? Are there any Ood running wild somewhere like wildebeest?"

"All Ood are born to serve," the Ood replied, "Otherwise we would die."

"You can't have started like that," Donna argued, "Before the humans…" the Ood jerked his head, making Evy and the Doctor frown, "What were you like?"

"The circle…"

"What do you mean?" Evy asked.

"What circle?" the Doctor questioned.

"The circ…" the Ood tried, "The circle…is…"

"Ladies and gentlemen," Solana called, "All Ood to hospitality stations, please."

The Ood walked away, leaving the Doctor, Donna, and Evy to their own devices. The Doctor took off his specs and pulled the map of the complex out of his pocket.

"I've had enough of the schmoozing," he told them, "Do you fancy going off the beaten track?"

"A Rough Guide to the Ood-Sphere?" Donna grinned, "Works for me."

"Oh yes," Evy nodded.

"Yeah," the Doctor grinned.

~8~

They wandered through the complex before they came to a locked gate. Evy flashed her sonic at the lock, opening it.

"Ood Shift 8 commencing," a computer system announced, "I repeat, Ood Shift 8 commencing."

They stepped through the gate and found themselves in a part of the complex obviously closed to visitors. They walked up some steps to a metal walkway where they could see an open area where the Ood were being marched around. One of the Ood fell to its knees and a guard walked over to it.

"Get up," the guard ordered, "I said, get up!" he cracked a whip.

"Servants?" Donna gasped, "They're slaves."

"Get up!" the guard ordered again, whipping the Ood who just barely managed to stand, "March!"

"Last time I met the Ood, I never thought…" the Doctor trailed in thought, "I never asked..."

"That's not like you," Donna commented.

"I was busy," he frowned, "So busy I couldn't save them. I had to let the Ood die."

"I suppose that means we owe them one," Evy replied, taking the Doctor's hand in her own and squeezing it.

He looked over at her and smiled at her support.

"That looks like the boss," Donna suddenly whispered.

They looked over to see a man in a black suit walking with purpose across the area with an Ood and a man in a lab coat behind him.

"Let's keep out of his way," the Doctor said, tugging on Evy's hand, leading her and Donna away, "Come on."

They headed down the stairs and into the open area, just wandering around, the Doctor holding out a map of the complex to look at as they walked, when a whistle resounded. The Doctor made to duck and then turned around quickly to see Evy and Donna smirking at his reaction.

"Where did you learn to whistle?" he demanded from Donna, trying to cover up his less than brave reaction as he walked over to the door where Evy was standing with Donna.

"West Ham, every Saturday," Donna laughed.

The Doctor just grumbled as he pulled out his sonic and flashed the door, sliding it open. They walked into the warehouse to see it filled with shipping containers, a large metal claw moving along a track on the ceiling, lifting and moving them.

"Ood Export," the Doctor said, pointing at the claw, "You see? Lifts up the containers, takes 'em to the rocket ships."

"Flying them out to all three galaxies," Evy finished.

"What, you mean…" Donna's eyes widened, "These containers are full of..."

"What do you think?" the Doctor replied grimly, walking towards the nearest container with Evy and opening it up. They stood there, seeing a number of Ood stationed within.

"Oh, it stinks," Donna moved to cover her nose, "How many of 'em do you think there are in each one?"

"Fifty?" Evy shrugged, "A hundred? More?"

"A great, big empire, built on slavery," Donna shook her head at the sight.

"It's not so different from your time," the Doctor commented.

"Oi, I haven't got slaves!"

"Who do you think made your clothes?"

"Is that why you travel round with a human at your side?" Donna asked, her voice shaking, "It's not so you can show them the wonders of the Universe, it's so you can take cheap shots."

"Sorry."

"Well, don't," Donna ordered him lightly, "Spaceman," the Doctor smirked and Evy smiled at the easy camaraderie between them. Donna turned back to the Ood, "I don't understand, the door was open…why didn't you just run away?"

"For what reason?" one of the Ood asked.

"So you could be free," Evy replied.

"I do not understand the concept."

"What is it with that Persil ball?" Donna asked them, "I mean, they're not born with it, are they? Why do they have to be all plugged in?"

"Ood, tell me, does 'the circle' mean anything to you?" the Doctor tried.

"The circle must be broken," all the Ood said.

"Whoa, that is creepy," Donna commented.

"But what is it?" the Doctor asked again, "What is the circle?"

"The circle must be broken," they repeated.

"Why?" Evy asked.

"So that we can sing."

And then an alarm was sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! The Doctor is open to seeing where things go with Evy, awesome :) I just have to say, my all-time favorite chapters for this series are the ones with Jenny, River, Midnight and Journey's End, especially because of what I have planned involving Evy and the Doctor, milestones will be met in those chapters. I cannot wait!
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor's mouth gets them into quite a bit of trouble. The Doctor saves Evy in a very cute way. Will Evy fit into the Ood prophecy of the Doctor-Donna?


	9. Planet of the Ood (Part 2)

"That's us, come on!" the Doctor shouted over the blaring alarm before grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her away, Donna running after them.

They ran this way and that through a maze of shipping containers. The Doctor kept a firm grasp of Evy's hand, both of them keeping perfect time with the other. Both were so focused on finding a way out that they didn't even notice Donna stopping or calling after them.

They had raced around two more containers before they realized Donna wasn't shouting at them or blaming them for the situation like she seemed to enjoy doing when they found themselves in situations like this.

"Where have you gone?" the Doctor shouted as they stopped and looked around for Donna.

"Stay where you are!" they heard a guard shout at them, following them.

They had no choice but to start running again as the guards found them, "Donna!" Evy continued to shout as they ran, "Where are you?"

She was about to run around a container when the Doctor pulled her back and pressed the two of them against the it, just listening.

"I think we've lost them," he whispered to her.

And then the sound of the claw starting up reached them. They looked up to see the claw coming towards them, racing along its track.

"I'm going to  _kill_  you!" Evy grumbled as she pushed herself off the container and pulled the Doctor down the rows, running as the claw followed them.

The Doctor pulled her around a container and over to the doors, trying to pull them open. But then the lock clicked into place.

Evy pulled him away and down the rows again, running from the claw that was quickly gaining on them. It smashed down behind them, narrowly missing their feet.

They kept running as long as they could, but they were both starting to tire. The claw smashed at them again, narrowly missing the Doctor's head but sending him stumbling to the floor. Evy didn't let go of his hand for a moment, instead pulling him up and steadying him as they ran.

But then the claw swung out, hitting her in the shoulder, sending her flying into some barrels, the Doctor falling down with her, onto his back. He looked up to see the claw rapidly dropping towards them. He reached out quickly, pulling Evy towards him and rolling on top of her to shield her from the metallic talons. They tensed, waiting for the claw to grab them, when suddenly, it stopped.

Evy moved her head from the Doctor's shoulder and looked up to see it hovering above them. She let out a breath of relief, feeling the Doctor laughing into her neck as he dropped his head onto her shoulder. He pulled back a bit and looked down at her, their eyes locking. Evy could feel the breath catch in her throat, especially when the Doctor's gaze softened and he made no move to get off her. She swallowed hard, opening her mouth, about to force herself to tell him to move when the sound of guns cocking made them look over. There was a row of guards surrounding them, guns ready. Four guards stepped forward, pulling them to their feet as the claw was lifted to the ceiling again, getting a good grip on them so they couldn't escape and pushed them back towards another container where they could hear Donna yelling.

"Doctor, get me out of here!" Donna called, "Evy help!"

"If you don't do what she says," the Doctor warned, "You're really in trouble."

"Not from us," Evy added, nodding at the container, "From her."

"Unlock the container," a guard ordered. Other guards walked over and unlocked the door, pulling it open.

Donna ran out and straight over to the Doctor and Evy, pulling them into a hug, "Doctor! Evy!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Evy said, hugging her tightly, "It's alright. You're safe..."

"Never mind about me, what about  _them_?"

They turned to see the Ood coming out of the container, their eyes red, as they immediately began to kill the guards with their translator orbs.

"Red alert!" the guard shouted, "Fire!"

As the guards opened fire, the Doctor took Evy's hand, pulling her away as they led Donna out of the room, trying not to look back as the other containers opened and more Ood began to kill.

They ran out of the warehouse, realizing only when they made it outside that Solana had joined them in their flight. They ran down an open area and hid behind the building, stopping there to catch their breath.

"If the people back on Earth knew what was going on here..." Donna began.

"Don't be stupid," Solana cut in, "Of course they know."

"They know how you treat the Ood?"

"They don't ask. Same thing."

"Solana, the Ood aren't born like this," the Doctor turned to her, "They  _can't_  be. A species born to serve could never evolve in the first place. What does the company do to make them obey?"

"That has nothing to do with me."

"What, because you don't ask?" Evy frowned, glaring at the woman. It was times like these, these few, very rare times, when a human knowingly did something so... _wrong_...that a tiny voice that sounded far too much like her brother would mutter doubts about the humans. She firmly believed, as much as the Doctor did, that they were an incredible species. But when they did things like this, out of greed or fear or hate, the tiny voice had trouble seeing it.

"That's Dr. Ryder's territory," Solana defended.

"Where is he?" Evy asked, taking the map from the Doctor and holding it out, "Where is he Solana?" she nearly shoved the map in the woman's face when she continued to remain silent, "What part of the complex?"

"We could help with the red-eye," the Doctor said, seeing her make no move to help as well and knowing that this version of Evy, once she got worked up, would probably slap the woman like she'd done to Rickston on the  _Titanic_  with no qualms about it, "Now show us!"

Solana hesitated a moment longer before pointing at the map, "There, beyond the red section."

"Come with us," he offered, "You've seen the warehouse. You can't agree with all this. You know this place better than us, you could help."

Solana looked at them, going from the Doctor to Evy to the map before she shouted, "They're over here! Guards, they're over here!"

Evy glared at the woman before she was pulled away by the Doctor before she could really slap her and began to run with Donna as the guards caught up to them. They ran around the base, quickly changing directions when they saw guards in the distance.

"This way!" Evy shouted, stopping suddenly and leading them back to another warehouse.

The Doctor sucked in a breath, staring at the door in horror.

"Can you hear it?" Evy asked him quietly, "We didn't need the map."

"We should've listened!" he shouted before whipping out his sonic and flashing the door. As soon as they were inside Evy flashed the lock, sealing them in.

"Does that mean we're locked in?" Donna asked.

"Listen," the Doctor hushed her, taking Evy's hand in his as they began to walk down the hall, "Listen, listen, listen, listen."

They walked down some steps only to see a group of Ood huddled together in cages.

"My head..." Evy mumbled, rubbing her forehead. The Doctor's face just tensed in pain.

"What is it?" Donna looked at them.

"Can't you hear it?" he asked her, "The singing?" he switched on the lights so they could see the Ood clearer.

"They look different to the others," Donna commented as they drew nearer to the cages.

"They're natural-born Ood," Evy said.

"Unprocessed," the Doctor frowned, "Before they're adapted to slavery. Unspoiled."

They squatted down in front of a cage, the Doctor, then Evy, then Donna, "That's their song," Evy whispered, kneeling down to look into the cage.

"I can't hear it," Donna frowned.

"Do you want to?" the Doctor asked, turning to her.

"Yeah."

"It's the song of captivity," Evy warned her from her position.

"Let me hear it."

"Face me," the Doctor told her, moving so that he and Donna were looking at each other over Evy's back. He placed his fingertips to her temples, "Open your mind. That's it. Hear it, Donna...hear the music."

Donna gasped as the Ood song filled her mind. She turned to face the Ood, tears now running down her face. She could only look at them for a moment before turning back to the Doctor, "Take it away."

"You sure?" he asked.

"I can't bear it," her voice broke. Evy straightened a bit and turned to her this time, closing off the connection to the Ood that the Doctor had forged for the woman, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Evy smiled sadly and looked back at the Ood.

"It's okay," the Doctor told her, watching the Ood as well.

"But you can still hear it," Donna frowned, seeing the immense pain in her friends' eyes.

"All the time."

Evy reached out and took his hand in hers, squeezing it, though she could offer no comfort. He looked at her, smiling at her action before taking a breath and standing with her. He pulled out his sonic and flashed the cage door, unlocking it.

"They're breaking in," Donna whispered, hearing something above them.

"Let them," Evy waved it off as she and the Doctor pulled the cage door open and stepped inside. The Ood tried to shuffle away. Evy knelt down, reaching out a hand, speaking soothingly so as not to alarm them, "What are you holding?"

One of the Ood looked at her shyly.

The Doctor smiled at her, kneeling beside her, "Friend. Evy," he nodded at Evy, "Doctor," he patted his chest and then nodded at Donna, "Donna, friend. Look at us. Let us see."

The Ood slowly crawled closer, "That's it," Evy smiled at him, "That's it, go on. Go on."

The Ood held out his cupped hands and pulled them apart to reveal a pinkish lump.

"Is that…" Donna trailed, taking a step back.

"It's a brain," the Doctor confirmed, "A hindbrain."

"The Ood are born with a secondary brain," Evy nodded, "Like the amygdale in humans, it processes memory and emotion."

"You get rid of that, you wouldn't be Donna anymore. You'd be like an Ood. A processed Ood."

"So the company..." Donna swallowed hard, "Cuts off their brains."

"To stitch on the translator," Evy said grimly.

"Like a lobotomy," Donna breathed, heartbroken, "I spent all that time looking for you, Doctor, because I thought it would be so wonderful out here. I want to go home."

"Donna…" Evy began, standing up and taking the woman's hand in her own while the Doctor looked up, stunned. He opened his mouth to say something when they heard someone shouting above them, the guards had broken in.

The Doctor stood and slammed the cage shut, "What are you gonna do, then?" he shouted at the guards that were rushing towards them, "Arrest us? Lock us up? Well, you're too late! Hah!"

~8~

"You  _really_  need to just  _stop_  talking," Evy mumbled to the Doctor as they were being handcuffed to a pole in the executive office of the complex by the guards. She decided, when they got back to the TARDIS, she was gluing his mouth shut.

"Why don't you just come out and say it?" the head of the industry, Mr. Halpen, said, "FOTO activists."

"If that's what Friends of the Ood are trying to prove, then yes," the Doctor glared at the man.

"The Ood were nothing without us. Just animals roaming around on the ice."

"That's because you can't hear them!" Evy shouted.

"They welcomed it! It's not as if they put up a fight."

"You idiot!" Donna glared, "They're born with their brain in their hands, don't you see? That makes them peaceful! They've got to be because a creature like that would have to trust anyone it meets."

"Nice one," the Doctor commented.

"Brilliant actually," Evy complimented.

"Thank you," Donna nodded.

"The system's worked for 200 years," Halpen rolled his eyes, "All we've got is a rogue batch. But the infection is about to be sterilized," he lifted up his comm. link, "Mr. Kess, how do we stand?"

"Canisters primed, sir," a guard replied over the comm., "As soon as the core heats up, the gas is released. Give it 200 marks...and counting."

"You're going to _gas_  them?" Evy's eyes widened in horror, completely disgusted. And there went that little voice again. It was terrible to think of a human being as cruel as her brother could be and had been, even using the same method as he had in gassing the Ministers.

"Kill the livestock," Halpen shrugged, "The classic foot-and-mouth solution. Still works."

Moments later alarms began to blare.

"What the hell?" Halpen demanded, staring up at the alarms for a moment before storming out of the room with his Ood and scientist, Dr. Ryder.

"Emergency status!" the computer announced, "Emergency status!"

Halpen stormed back in, "Change of plan."

"No reports of trouble off-world, sir," Dr. Ryder replied, checking the computers, "It's still contained to the Ood-Sphere."

"Then we've got a public duty to stop it before it spreads."

"What's happening?" the Doctor demanded.

"Everything you wanted, Doctor. No doubt there'll be a full police investigation once this place has been sterilized so I can't risk a bullet to the head. I'll leave you to the mercies of the Ood."

And with that, he headed for the door.

"But Mr. Halpen!" Evy shouted suddenly, "There's something else. Something we haven't seen."

Halpen stopped.

"What do you mean?" Donna looked at the woman.

"The Ood can't survive with a separate forebrain and hindbrain, their minds would be at war with each other," Evy explained, "There's something else...a third element."

Halpen smirked, "So clever."

"It's got to be connected to the red-eye," the Doctor reasoned, following Evy's logic, "What is it?"

"It won't exist for very much longer. Enjoy your Ood."

And so, for the second time, Halpen strode out of the room with his Ood and Dr. Ryder, but this time, taking the two guards with him. As soon as the door was shut, the three of them immediately moved to try and free themselves, twisting and turning trying to break free off the cuffs, the Time Lords cuffed too tightly to be able to move to reach their pockets for their sonics.

"Well, do something!" Donna shouted at them, "You're the ones with all the tricks! You must've met Houdini!"

"These are really good handcuffs!" the Doctor countered.

"Oh, I'm glad of that," Donna exclaimed exasperatedly, "At least we've got quality!"

Just then the door opened and they froze. There was a group of red-eyed Ood standing there, advancing on them. The three of them looked at each other before turning back to the Ood, each trying to get through to them.

"Evy, Doctor, Donna, friends!" the Doctor shouted.

"The circle must be broken!" Donna tried.

"The Ood will sing again!" Evy attempted.

They began repeating themselves over and over again as the Ood drew nearer, but it didn't seem to be working. Evy winced as the song within the Ood grew louder and louder. The Ood reached out their translator balls, just as the song hit its peak, and then froze inches away.

The translator balls switched off and the Ood held their heads in their hands before lifting their heads to reveal their eyes had gone back to normal.

"Eve," one of the Ood said, almost getting her name right, "Doctor. Donna. Friends."

"That's me!" Donna shouted, relieved, "Us!"

"Yes, that's us!" Evy nodded.

"Friends!" the Doctor grinned, "Oh, yes!"

They watched in amazement as the Ood stepped behind them and unlocked their handcuffs. As soon as they were off, not wanting to press their luck or see how long the Ood would remain docile for, they quickly thanked the Ood and ran out. They were down the stairs and across the compound in record time, dodging the guards fighting with Ood of their own.

The Doctor stopped suddenly, looking around, trying to get his bearings, "I don't know where it is! I don't know where they've gone!"

"What are we looking for?" Donna asked.

"It might be underground, like a cave or a cavern," Evy suggested, seeing what he was looking for in his mind.

They took off again, Donna following, still confused as to exactly what they were looking for. But she had little time to think on that as there was a rumbling behind them and the ground shook. Suddenly they were thrown through the air by an explosion a few feet away.

"Alright?" the Doctor asked, pushing himself up to help Evy and Donna to their feet. They nodded.

He looked down at Evy, feeling her grip on his arm tighten, and followed her gaze to see Halpen's Ood standing there, a few feet away.

They stiffened, watching as the Ood walked towards them. He said nothing, simply looked Evy and the Doctor in the eye before stepping past them and walking off.

"What's going on?" Donna whispered, "What's he doing?"

"He's going to lead us," Evy replied.

"Come on," the Doctor said, following the Ood toward a warehouse, Warehouse 15. Evy pulled out her sonic and flashed the panel beside the door, forcing it open. They quickly walked inside to see a giant brain on the level below them, surrounded in an energy field.

"The Ood brain," Evy breathed.

"Now it all makes sense," the Doctor nodded to himself, "That's the missing link. The third element, binding them together. Forebrain, hindbrain and this. The telepathic center."

"A shared mind that connects all the Ood in song."

A weapon clicked.

They looked up to see Halpen standing there, holding a gun at them, "Cargo," he began, "I can always go into cargo. I've got the rockets, I've got the sheds. Smaller business. Much more manageable without livestock."

"He's mined the area," Dr. Ryder told them.

"You're gonna kill it," Donna's eyes widened in shock.

"They found that thing centuries ago beneath the northern glacier," Halpen informed them.

"Those pylons," the Doctor turned to look back at the energy fields.

"In a circle!" Donna realized, "'The circle must be broken.'"

"It's meant to dampen the telepathic field," Evy frowned, "To stop the Ood from connecting for...God for  _200 years_ ," she could feel for the Ood, being unable to connect, feeling it there but unable to complete it…

The Doctor glanced over at her, actually hearing her thoughts on the subject for once. It seemed she was too horrified by what had been done to the Ood to realize that thought hadn't been blocked.

"And you, Ood Sigma, you brought them here," Halpen glared at his Ood, pulling the Doctor's attention back in the process, "I expected better."

"My place is at your side, sir," Sigma replied, moving to stand beside Halpen.

Halpen chuckled, "Still subservient. Good Oo…" he choked on his words.

"If that barrier thing's in place," Donna frowned, "How come the Ood started breaking out?"

"It could have just taken centuries to adapt," Evy suggested.

"The subconscious reaching out," the Doctor agreed.

"But the process was too slow," Dr. Ryder cut in, "Had to be accelerated," he turned to Halpen, "You should never have given me access to the controls, Mr. Halpen. I lowered the barrier to its minimum. Friends of the Ood, sir. It's taken me ten years to infiltrate the company. And I succeeded."

"Yes," Halpen nodded, "Yes, you did," he then reached out and pushed him over the railing.

"No!" Evy shouted as she ran to the railing to look over. Ryder fell, landing on the brain, and was absorbed by it.

"You...murdered him," Donna gasped.

"Very observant, Ginger," Halpen sneered, turning on them, "Now then, can't say I've ever shot anyone before...can't say I'm gonna like it, but, uh, it's not exactly a  _normal_  day, is it? Still..." he lifted his gun, preparing to fire when…

"Would you like a drink, sir?" Sigma asked at random.

Halpen laughed, "I think hair loss is the least of my problems right now, thanks."

Sigma moved to stand in front of the Doctor and Evy, the former of which had tried to push the latter behind him, only for her to push her way next to him again. He held out a glass to Halpen, "Please have a drink, sir."

"If…if you're gonna stand in their way, I'll shoot you too," Halpen threatened, but seemed to have trouble speaking the last words. His speech had slowed down, almost slurred.

"Please have a drink, sir."

"Have…have you..." Halpen gasped, "Poisoned me?"

"Natural Ood must never kill, sir."

"What is that stuff?" the Doctor frowned, looking at the cup in Sigma's hand.

"Ood-graft suspended in a biological compound."

Halpen paled, looking very ill, "What the hell does that mean?"

"Oh my…" Evy muttered, her eyes widening.

"Tell me!"

"Funny thing, the subconscious," the Doctor began, "Takes all sorts of shapes. It came out in the red-eye as revenge. It came out in the rabid Ood as anger."

"And patience," Evy turned to stand next to Sigma, "Intelligence and mercy, focused on Ood Sigma."

"How's the hair loss, Mr. Halpen?" the Doctor turned back to the man.

"What have you done?" Halpen gasped.

"Oh, they've been preparing you for a very long time. And now you're standing next to the Ood brain."

"Can you hear it Mr. Halpen?" Evy asked, "Listen."

Halpen hesitated, the Ood song filtering through his mind, "What have you…I'm...not…"

Sigma stepped out of the way as Halpen dropped the gun. He gripped his head, crying out in pain as he pulled at his scalp. It pulled away, revealing an Ood head underneath. Tentacles extended out of his mouth.

"They…they turned him into an Ood?" Donna gaped, looking more than a bit ill.

"Yup," the Doctor nodded.

"He's an Ood…"

"We noticed Donna," Evy said, reaching out to put a hand on Donna's shoulder.

Halpen, now looking like an actual Ood, made a gurgling noise and coughed up his hindbrain.

"He has become Ood-kind and we will take care of him," Sigma stated.

"It's weird, being with you two," Donna commented, in shock, "I can't tell what's right and what's wrong anymore."

"Sometimes it's better that way," Evy remarked, "People who know for certain end up like Mr. Halpen."

A loud beeping sounded and the Doctor ran to the railing, "Oh!" he reached over and turned off the detonation packs, "That's better. And now..." he ran to the main controls before spinning on his heel. He glanced at Evy who smiled and nodded before he turned to Sigma, "Ood Sigma, will you allow me the honor?"

"It is yours, Doctor," Sigma nodded.

"Oh yes!" the Doctor grinned, turning to the equipment, "Stifled for over 200 years but not anymore. The circle is broken. The Ood can sing!"

He pulled down a lever and the field around the brain shut off. The song of the Ood filled the room. This time it was different, this time it was hopeful, joyous, free.

The Doctor laughed and looked over at Evy who was smiling happily, her eyes shut, just listening to the awe-inspiring music around them. This was for her, he had to free the Ood for her. He might not be able, be ready, to connect to her on the level the Link would provide just yet, but he could help the Ood connect to each other again.

"I can hear it!" Donna shouted, happily.

Ood Sigma raised his arms, lifting the song to the Universe.

~8~

The Ood were standing in a half circle around the TARDIS with the trio, the Doctor holding Evy's hand as Donna stood beside them, smirking as she glanced at their hands. She'd understood their hand holding, at the start of this adventure, had been for mutual comfort, both hearing the sorrow of the Ood song, but now...it was somethng more than that.

"The message has gone out," Evy smiled at them, "That song resonated across the galaxies. Everyone heard it and everyone knows. The rockets are bringing them back. All the Ood will be home soon."

"We thank you, Eve-Doctor-Donna, friends of Ood-kind," Sigma nodded at them, "And what of you now? Will you stay? There is room in the song for you."

"Oh, I've…I've sorta got a song of my own, thanks," the Doctor nodded back at the TARDIS.

"I think your song must end soon," Sigma commented.

The Doctor tensed.

"Meaning?" Evy asked when she saw the Doctor was too startled by the words to.

"Every song must end," was all Sigma replied.

"Yeah…" the Doctor said slowly, still a bit tense. Evy just squeezed his hand in reassurance. He shook himself out of his thoughts and turned to Donna, "Um, what about you? Do you still want to go home?"

Donna just smiled, "No. Definitely not."

"Then we'll be off," he nodded.

"Take this song with you," Sigma offered.

"We will," Donna nodded.

"Always," the Doctor agreed.

"Forever," Evy smiled.

"And know this, Eve-Doctor-Donna, you will never be forgotten," Sigma told them, "Our children will sing of the Eve, of the Doctor-Donna, and our children's children, and the wind and the ice and the snow will carry your names forever."

The Doctor, Donna, and Evy smiled and nodded their goodbyes before walking to the TARDIS. Moments later the bright blue box dematerialized, leaving the Ood singing.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You want to kill me for cutting off the Claw scene like that don't you? I do too so it's ok :) But just think, we get our first one chapter-one episode next! Woo! Even though The Doctor's Daughter wasn't considered a part of the 2-parter episode I count it to be close enough, it goes right from one episode to the next, so we get three chapters for the three episodes!
> 
> The Doctor will eventually find out about Evy's time in the Mason Institute. There will be key points/chapters where Evy will talk more about it and where the Doctor will, piece by piece, learn about what she went through. The Unicorn and the Wasp, Forests of the Dead, and Turn Left will be big points in that part of the story :)
> 
> Next chapter...the Doctor's jealous? Of who?


	10. The Sontaran Stratagem

Evy was grinning widely as she stood beside Donna at the console. The Doctor, however, was leaning against a Y-beam, watching them nervously.

"You're doing great Donna," Evy encouraged as she watched Donna carefully try to pilot the TARDIS. She had begged them for ages to teach her how and, with a little help from Evy, the Doctor had finally relented.

"I can't believe I'm doing this!" Donna breathed as she stood stiffly, pumping a lever on the console.

"No, neither can I," the Doctor mumbled, still unsure of how Evy had managed to convince him this would be a good idea, before jolting forward, "Whoa, careful!" he banged the console with a mallet.

"Oi! Don't smack her!" Evy shouted, reaching around Donna to smack him upside the back of his head, "And you wonder why she gives  _you_  all the trouble," the Doctor rubbed his head as he lifted a lever, "And left hand down, Donna," Evy instructed gently. They had found out quite early on that Evy was a far better instructor for humans. The Doctor either tended to get off track or yell instructions which did little to relieve the nerves of a frazzled human. Evy seemed to have more patience and spoke more calmly, not to mention, all the time she'd spent trying to blend in around humans had made her better able to explain things in a way they could understand, which was just what Donna needed.

Donna did as she was told and the ship lurched.

"Getting a bit too close to the 1980s," the Doctor warned them.

"What am I gonna do, put a dent in 'em?" Donna rolled her eyes at him.

"Well, someone did," he replied, staring at the screen of the Vortex when a mobile began to ring.

Evy and the Doctor tensed.

"Hold on…that's a phone!" Donna exclaimed. The Doctor walked around them to another section of the console and pulled a mobile out of its holder, looking at it, "You've got a mobile? Since when?"

"It's not mine…" he continued to stare at it.

"Just answer!" Evy shouted, sounding excited. It  _had_  to be Martha, only she would call them on that phone.

He glanced at Evy a moment before flipping it open and leaning on the captain's chair, "Hello?"

"Doctor?" he heard Martha's voice reply on the other end, "It's Martha...and I'm bringing you two back to Earth!"

~8~

Evy had immediately taken the controls before the Doctor had finished speaking with Martha. She left scarcely any room for questioning or arguing as she ran around the console, piloting the TARDIS to the exact coordinates she traced the phone to. Donna had braced herself against the console but straightened when she realized the bumpiness she usually associated with the flying of the TARDIS was greatly reduced.

The TARDIS materialized in a small alley between two buildings easily.

"Why don't you let her fly more often?" Donna turned to the Doctor, smirking.

"Where's the fun in that?" he just grinned, tossing Evy her coat before opening the TARDIS doors. He stepped out and stood in front of the box as Evy quickly pulled on her coat.

"Martha Jones," he greeted someone they couldn't see from the doorway.

"Doctor," they heard Martha reply.

The Doctor moved slowly towards Martha, too slowly for Evy who ran out the doors and pushed past him, "Martha!" she shouted, running over her friend and half throwing herself at the woman, hugging her.

Martha laughed, hugging her back, "Evy!" she pulled away, "I still can't believe it's you!"

She really couldn't. She'd only been around Evy's new self for an hour at most before she and the Doctor were off again. Whenever she thought of her wayward friend she still imagined the woman with brown hair and green eyes. This would take some getting used to.

Evy just rolled her eyes and pulled her into one more quick hug before stepping away and allowing the Doctor to hug her as well.

"You haven't changed a bit!" the Doctor remarked, pulling away.

"Neither have you!" Martha grinned at him.

"How's the family?" he asked cautiously.

"You know," she shrugged, "Not so bad. Recovering."

"What about you?" he asked but Martha was distracted by something behind him.

Evy looked over to see Donna slowly making her way over to them.

"Right," Martha nodded, "I should have known. Didn't take you two long to replace me."

"As if anyone could," Evy rolled her eyes, walking over to Donna and half pulling her faster to meet Martha.

"Now, don't start a fight," the Doctor muttered uncomfortably.

Evy just shook her head, the two would get along just fine, "Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha."

"Please don't fight," he begged again, "I can't bear fighting."

"You wish," Donna scoffed before turning to Martha with a warm smile, "I've heard all about you," she shook her hand, "They talk about you all the time."

"I dread to think," Martha grimaced.

"No, no, no. They say nice things. Good things. Nice things. Really good things."

"Oh, my God, they've told you everything," Martha's eyes widened in horror. While she had gotten over the Doctor rather quickly in 1913, she was still very embarrassed thinking back to how she acted around him in the beginning.

Donna gave the woman the quick onceover before smirking, "Didn't take you long to get over it, though. Who's the lucky man?"

"What man?" the Doctor frowned, "Lucky what?"

"She's engaged!" Evy nearly shouted as Martha wiggled her fingers of her left hand at him, showing off her ring. Evy just hugged her once more.

"Really? Who to?"

"Tom Milligan," Evy answered.

"How did you know that?" he turned a shocked gaze at Evy.

"Unlike you," Evy rolled her eyes, "I actually like to  _keep in touch_  with my friends."

And she had. She always made sure to call Martha and Jack and Ianto every so often, to check in and see how they were doing. Martha had told her all about the work she'd done with Torchwood and her time with Tom.

"He's in pediatrics working out in Africa right now," Martha added, "And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places, tell me about it."

"Is he skinny?" Donna asked seriously.

"No, he's sort of...strong," Martha blushed.

"He is too skinny for words," Donna pointed her thumb at the Doctor, "You give him a hug, you get a paper cut!"

The three women just shared a laugh.

"I'd rather you were fighting," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oh stop," Evy elbowed him gently in the stomach.

"Dr. Jones, report to base please," a voice suddenly said on a radio.

"Speaking of which..." Martha lifted up her radio, "This is Dr. Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go," she turned around and walked off down the alley, "I repeat, this is a go."

The Doctor, Donna, and Evy shared a look before following after Martha only to see soldiers, jeeps, and a large lorry come down the road.

"Unified Intelligence Taskforce, raise that barrier now!" a soldier shouted as a group of soldiers and vehicles entered a large factory, "Leave your safeties on, lads, it's non-hostiles!"

"All workers lay down your tools and surrender!" another soldier shouted over a bullhorn.

"You work for UNIT?" Evy turned to her. The last time she spoke to Martha she had only said she was doing some work for Torchwood and would send them her love.

Martha nodded before speaking back into the radio, "Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go! Search the ground floor, grid pattern Delta."

"What are you searching for?" the Doctor asked as they watched the infiltration.

"Illegal aliens."

"This is a UNIT operation!" the soldier with the bullhorn announced, "All workers lay down your tools and surrender immediately!"

The UNIT soldiers forced the workers to their knees, hands over their heads.

"B Section mobilized!" Martha shouted, rushing off, "E Section, F Section, on my command!"

"Is that what you did to her," Donna asked, looking at the Doctor and Evy, "Turned her into a soldier?"

Neither the Doctor nor Evy could really answer. Instead they waited patiently until the situation settled down and Martha returned.

"You're qualified now?" the Doctor asked, seeing Martha's name tag said 'Dr. Jones,' "You're a proper doctor."

"UNIT rushed it through," Martha replied, "Given my experience in the field. Here we go," she turned and began to lead them across the grounds, "We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same," he mumbled, nervous. Evy reached over and took his hand in hers. He smiled at her, giving her hand a squeeze before following off after Martha who was talking with Donna.

~8~

The UNIT field base wasn't too far from the factory so they arrived in no time at all. They walked through the back of the lorry to see it stocked with computers and monitors and communication devices, each the top technology of the time.

"Operation Blue Sky complete, sir," Martha stated, walking over to her commanding officer, "Thanks for letting me take the lead. And this..." she grinned and turned to her guests, "This is the Doctor and Evy. Doctor, Evy, this is Colonel Mace."

"Sir," Mace saluted them, "Ma'am."

"Oh, don't salute," the Doctor shook his head while Evy tried to stifle a laugh.

"But it's an honor, sir. I've read all the files on you, and you as well ma'am."

"What?" Evy frowned, she hadn't known there  _were_  any files on her.

Mace nodded, "When it was discovered that a female Time Lord…"

"Time Lady," Evy corrected, still a bit stunned.

"My apologies. When it was discovered that at Time Lady was present during the  _Valiant_ excursion, we here at UNIT took it upon ourselves to look into your history on Earth."

"I take it you contacted Torchwood as well?" she asked, rubbing her head, uneasy with the fact that they had been digging into her past. There were things, probably in that file, that she didn't want anyone to know.

"They refused to help. We compiled quite a few notes about your past five years on Earth…"

"You were here for  _five years_?!" the Doctor turned to her, eyes wide. He knew she was on Earth before Jack had contacted him and introduced them, but he hadn't thought it was for that long. How had he never sensed her before then? He'd been on Earth dozens of times and never even knew she was there. It shouldn't be possible. Was it a Perception Filter? Something else?

"You um," Evy hesitated, "You  _did_  sense me," she told him quietly, "But you um, talked yourself into it being a phantom sensation, one last lingering reminder of the War."

He nodded, vaguely recalling the tickle in the back of his mind he'd felt quite a few times when he'd been on Earth after the war.

Mace nodded, "We have a record of your living arrangements with a Miss Marcy DeWitt in Leeds, a small collection of jobs you had taken on during your time, medical records from your time spent in the Mas…"

"Technically speaking, you're still on staff," Martha cut in, turning to the Doctor, "You never resigned."

Evy looked at Martha, sending her a thankful look for doing what she had done. Martha was the only one present who she had told about her time in the Institute, the one one, in fact, who knew about her powers as well. Martha knew how much she didn't want the Doctor to learn of either.

Good fortune must have been smiling at Evy for once as the Doctor seemed too distracted by the fact that Evy had been there all along and he never noticed to realize what Martha had done.

"What, you used to work for them?" Donna turned to the Doctor as well.

"Yeah," he mumbled, still staring at Evy, but slowly working his way out of his shock, "A long time ago, back in the 70s…or was it the 80s?"

"Early 70s," Evy answered. She always had a better recollection of time relative to the Doctor and his adventures.

"It was all a bit more homespun back then," he nodded absently.

"Times have changed, sir," Mace replied.

"That's enough of the 'sir,'" the Doctor said, shaking himself completely from his thoughts.

"Come on though," Martha looked between the Doctor and Evy, "You've seen it. You've been on board the  _Valiant_. We've got massive funding from the United Nations, all in the name of Homeworld Security."

"A modern UNIT for the modern world," Mace agreed.

"What, and that means arresting ordinary workers?" Donna demanded, "In the streets? In broad daylight? It's more like Guantanamo Bay out there. Donna, by the way. Donna Noble, since you didn't ask. I'll have a salute."

Mace looked over at the Doctor and Evy both of whom gave him a nod and so he turned to Donna and saluted her, "Ma'am."

"Thank you," Donna nodded, pleased.

"Tell me what's going on in that factory," the Doctor got back to business.

"Yesterday 52 people died in identical circumstances right across the world, in 11 different time zones," Mace turned to a screen on the wall, bringing up a map, "5am in the UK, 6am in France, 8am in Moscow, 1pm in China…"

"They died simultaneously?" Evy frowned.

"Exactly. 52 deaths at the exact same moment worldwide."

"How did they die?"

"They were all inside their cars."

"They were poisoned," Martha added, "I checked the biopsies. No toxins. Whatever it is, left the system immediately."

"What have the cars got in common?" the Doctor turned to them.

"Completely different makes but all fitted with ATMOS. And that is the ATMOS factory."

"What's ATMOS?" he frowned.

"Oh come on, even _I_  know that," Donna turned to him, "Everyone's got ATMOS."

~8~

Martha took them to the ATMOS factory, the Doctor, Evy, and Donna all walking behind her on the catwalk above the factory floor.

"Stands for 'Atmospheric Emission System,'" Martha told them, "The ATMOS in your car reduces CO2 emissions to zero."

"Zero?" Evy's eyes widened, "No carbon? At all?"

"And you get sat-nav thrown in, plus 20 quid in shopping vouchers if you introduce a friend," Donna added, "Bargain."

"And this is where they make it, shipping worldwide," Mace said, joining them, "Seventeen factories across the globe but this is the central depot, sending ATMOS to every country on Earth."

"And you think ATMOS is alien?" the Doctor reasoned.

"It's our job to investigate that possibility. Doctor? Miss Daniels?"

"Evy's fine," Evy remarked as they followed Mace off with Donna and Martha. He led them to a small office where the ATMOS device was on display.

"And here it is, laid bare," Mace announced, leading them into the room, "ATMOS can be threaded through any and every make of car."

"You must've checked it before it went on sale," the Doctor commented as Evy walked over to the device while he went to check another piece of equipment over by the wall.

"We did," Martha agreed, "We found nothing. That's why I thought we needed experts."

"Really?" he asked, distracted by the equipment, as he slipped on his specs, "Who did you get?" there was silence and so he turned to see them all staring at him, "Oh, right! Me and Evy! Yes! Good."

Martha just shook her head at how oblivious the Doctor still was before leaving the room with Mace to check on a few things.

"Okay, so why would aliens be so keen on cleaning up our atmosphere?" Donna asked them.

"Very good question," the Doctor mumbled, moving to stand next to Evy as she flipped through some paperwork.

"Maybe they want to help, get rid of pollution and stuff?"

"Do you know how many cars there are on planet Earth? 800 million. Imagine that."

"If you had control over them," Evy sighed, "You'd have 800 million weapons."

"Oh my God!" Donna gasped.

The Doctor and Evy moved to look at the ATMOS device, poking and prodding it as Mace walked back in with Martha. Donna looked down at the paperwork Evy had placed on the table beside her before getting an idea and walking out.

"Ionizing nano-membrane carbon dioxide converter," Evy mumbled, flashing her sonic over it.

"Which means that ATMOS works," the Doctor nodded, "Filters the CO2 at a molecular level."

"We know about that," Mace stated, "What's its origin? Is it alien?"

"No," Evy replied, straightening up and fiddling absently with her sonic as the Doctor crouched down next to the ATMOS device, "It  _is_  human, but it's decades ahead of its time."

"Look, do you mind?" the Doctor glanced up at Mace, "Could you stand back a bit?"

"Sorry, have I done something wrong?" Mace stepped back.

"You're carrying a gun," Evy told him, "He doesn't like people with guns hanging around him."

Mace looked a bit put off at that but turned to leave nonetheless, "If you insist."

"Tetchy," Martha commented.

"Well, it's true," the Doctor defended.

"He's a good man."

The Doctor straightened up and leaned against the display, flashing his own sonic on the device, "People with guns are usually the enemy in my books. You seem quite at home."

"If anyone got me used to fighting, it's  _you_ ," Martha glared at him.

"Oh right, so it's  _my_  fault," he rolled his eyes.

"Well, you got me the job," she shot back, "Besides, look at me," he turned off his sonic and looked up at her, "Am I carrying a gun?"

"Suppose not."

"It's alright for you two," Martha commented, glancing at Evy before looking back at the Doctor, "You can just come and go, but some of us have got to stay behind. So I've got to work from the inside and by staying inside, maybe I stand a chance of making them better."

"Yeah?" he asked as a grin spread its way across his face.

"There's my Martha," Evy smiled, stepping forward and hugging her friend from the side.

"I learnt from the best," Martha smiled at them as well.

"Well..." the Doctor began.

"Thanks Evy," Martha added, earning an indignant 'Hey!' from the Doctor.

"Oi, you lot!" Donna called, walking back into the room with a binder in her hand, "All your storm troopers and your sonics, rubbish! Shoulda come with me."

"Where have you been?" the Doctor frowned at her as Mace entered the room.

"Personnel. That's where the weird stuff's happening, in the paperwork. 'Cos I spent years working as a temp, I can find my way around an office blindfolded, and the first thing I noticed is an empty file."

"Why, what's inside it? Or what's  _not_  inside it?"

"Sick days," she opened the file to show them that it was empty, completely blank, "There  _aren't_  any. Hundreds of people working here and no one's sick. Not one hangover, man flu, sneaky little shopping trip. Nothing. Not ever. They don't get ill."

"That can't be right," Mace took the empty file from her.

"You've been checking out the buildings, should've been checking out the workforce."

"I can see why they like you," Martha beamed at the ginger.

"Hmm," Donna nodded as she looked at the Doctor and Evy.

"You are good," Martha laughed.

"She's amazing," Evy stood and went to hug the woman.

"Super Temp," Donna shrugged.

"Remind me to make you a cape," Evy joked.

"Dr. Jones, set up a medical post, start examining the workers," Mace cut in, "I'll get them sent through."

"Come on Donna, give me a hand?" Martha asked as the Doctor and Evy moved to follow Mace.

They walked out of the room and down an open corridor that ran parallel to the work area.

"So, this...this ATMOS thing, where'd it come from?" the Doctor asked.

"Luke Rattigan himself," Mace replied.

"Who?" Evy shook her head, confused.

"Come with me," Mace led them through the work area and back to the base, bringing up the file on Luke for them to see, "Child genius. Invented the Fountain 6 search engine when he was 12 years old. Millionaire overnight. Now runs the Rattigan Academy. A private school educating students handpicked from all over the world."

"A hothouse for geniuses," the Doctor nodded, "Wouldn't mind going there," Mace looked at him, puzzled, "I get lonely."

"OI!" Evy shouted, smacking him in the head again, hard.

"Right!" he winced, "Sorry, sorry, I meant  _we_.  _We_  get lonely…"

"You were implying I was stupid," Evy warned him, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"No!" his eyes widened, "I…I didn't…I just meant…and he…and humans…human geniuses! I meant human geniuses…they're fun, right?" he looked at Mace for help, "Right? They're fun…interesting…and...fun..." he trailed, seeing Evy smirking, "What?"

She just shook her head and walked off. It was always so amusing to see if she could get a rise out of the Doctor. He'd gotten very good at keeping them a partnership, using 'we' and 'us' when he spoke but, from time to time, he did slip up. And there were odd moments here and there where he would seem to forget she was a Time Lady. She didn't hold anything against him. He'd only known about her a few months and he'd thought he was alone for quite a few years. It must still be hard to wrap his head around the fact that he isn't alone any longer.

The Doctor watched her walk off, his mouth open in shock at how easily she'd let him off the hook after he'd accidently basically said she wasn't a genius, which was completely wrong, she was just as brilliant as he was. He quickly sobered when he heard Mace chuckling. He looked over at the man.

"Drives you round the bend does she?" he laughed, "My wife does the same."

He patted the Doctor on the back and walked off after the Time Lady, leaving a very stunned Time Lord standing there.

~8~

"Do you think I should call my mum?" Donna asked Martha after the Doctor and Evy left, "About the ATMOS in her car?"

"Better safe than sorry," Martha replied.

"I'll give her a call," Donna turned to leave when Martha called after her.

"Donna…" Donna stopped and turned around, "Do they know where you are? Your family, I mean, that you're travelling with the Doctor and Evy?"

"Not really," Donna stopped in thought, "Although...my granddad sorta waved us off. I didn't have time to explain."

"You just left him behind?"

"Yeah."

"I didn't tell my family. Kept it all so secret and it almost destroyed them."

"In what way?" Donna frowned.

"They ended up imprisoned," Martha sighed, "They were tortured, my mum, my dad, my sister...it wasn't the Doctor's fault, or Evy's, Evy actually was the one who saved them, but you need to be careful. 'Cos you know the Doctor, he's wonderful, he's brilliant, but he's like fire…stand to close and people get burned."

Donna looked a bit pale and glanced down at the floor.

"But then," Donna looked up to see Martha smiling reassuringly, "There's Evy. She's amazing, and fantastic, and she…balances him. She's like water, calm, patient, gentle, healing. She keeps him under control…most of the time anyway," she rolled her eyes, "And she'll take care of you, like she does everyone. As long as she's there, she'll never let you go, she'll never leave you by yourself because...she knows how that feels better than anyone."

Donna smiled. She had seen that as well. She'd seen Evy comfort and relax the Doctor, lift his burden and share it. She'd seen the woman go out of her way to make sure she was ok, like after Pompeii. Evy just seemed to make it all better. She gave one more nod at Martha and walked out.

~8~

The Doctor and Evy followed Mace through the factory, heading for docking, "You are  _not_  coming with us," the Doctor told him, "I want to  _talk_  to this Luke Rattigan, not point a gun at him."

"It's ten miles outside London," Mace argued, "How are you going to get there?"

"Lend us a jeep?" Evy suggested.

"According to the records, you travel by TARDIS."

"Yeah, but, if there is a danger of hostile aliens, I think it best to keep a super-duper time travel machine away from the front lines," he rolled his eyes as the man.

"I see. Then you  _do_  have weapons but you choose to keep them hidden. Jenkins!"

"Sir!" a young soldier ran up.

"You will accompany the Doctor and Miss Daniels…"

"Evy," she interrupted, but Mace continued on.

"…take orders from them."

"I don't do orders," the Doctor shook his head.

Evy shrugged, "I don't have much of an issue with it."

"Any sign of trouble get Jenkins to declare a Code Red," Mace told her, "And good luck, sir, ma'am."

He saluted them.

"I said no salutes," the Doctor told him.

"Now you're giving orders," Mace smirked before leaving.

"Cheeky, isn't he?" Evy commented as Donna ran up to them.

"Doctor!" she shouted, "Evy!"

"Oh, just in time," he smiled, "Come on!" he took her hand, "Come on, we're going to the country," he began to pull her towards the jeep, "Fresh air, geniuses, what more could you ask?"

"I'm not coming with you," Donna replied, pulling away, "I've been thinking. I'm sorry...I'm going home."

"Really?" Evy frowned, looking at her as the Doctor looked on, stunned.

"I've got to," she shrugged, but smiled.

Evy breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Donna was coming back afterwards. Thank God.

"Well, if that's what you want," the Doctor said slowly, obviously not getting what Evy had, "I mean, it's a bit soon. I had so many places I wanted to take you. The Fifteenth Broken Moon of the Medusa Cascade, the lightening skies of Cotter Palluni's World, the diamond coral reefs of Kaata Flo Ko..." he smiled at her softly, "Thank you. Thank you, Donna Noble. It's been brilliant. You…you've saved my life in so many ways."

Donna nodded, waiting for him to finish, a smirk on her face.

"You're..." his eyes widened as it finally hit him, "You're…you're just popping home for a visit. That's what you mean."

"Of course she is," Evy shook her head at the Doctor, sometimes he could be  _so_  oblivious.

"You dumbo," Donna stated.

"And then you're coming back," the Doctor nodded, figuring it all out.

"Do you know what you are? A great, big, outer-space dunce."

"Yeah," he rubbed his face.

"Ready when you are, sir, ma'am," Jenkins stepped up.

"What's more, you can give me a lift," Donna reached out and took his arm, pulling him to the truck, Evy following along, laughing, "Come on," then paused, "Broken moon of what?"

"I know," he mumbled, "I know."

It was a rather quiet ride back to where Donna lived, the Doctor, humbled from his slip for the time being, was silent. However that seemed to fade just as they reached the corner of Donna's road and the jeep pulled to a stop.

He stepped out first, followed by Donna and then Evy. It had been a tight fit but they managed to cram all four of them into the front of the vehicle.

"I'll walk the rest of the way," Donna assured them, "I'll see you back at the factory, yeah?"

"Yup," Evy nodded, the Doctor motioning for her to get back in the truck.

"Bye!" the Doctor called, hopping in after her.

"And you be careful!" Donna called.

"I'll take care of him!" Evy shouted back as the truck took off.

~8~

Donna was sitting at the kitchen table with her grandfather, having tea and just talking about everything that had happened.

"I said so, didn't I?" he grinned, "Aliens. I said they were real. I just didn't expect them in a little blue box."

"It's bigger on the inside," Donna told him.

"Yeah, but is it safe, then?" he frowned for a moment, "This Doctor and Evy person, are you safe with them?"

"They're amazing, Gramps," Donna smiled in thought, "He's just...dazzling. And never tell him I said that."

"No," he agreed.

"And Evy," she laughed, "Boy can that girl put him in his place. She's actually smacked him into place before. She's remarkable. And they're both always taking on these challenges, but…I'd trust them with my life."

"Hold up," he frowned in mock disappointment, "I thought that was  _my_  job."

"You still come first," Donna assured him.

"For God's sake, don't tell your mother."

"I don't know. I mean, this is  _massive_. It's sort of not fair if she doesn't know."

And then her mother walked in, complaining, and she realized exactly why she shouldn't say anything.

~8~

The Doctor, Evy, and Jenkins, whose first name they discovered was Ross, were driving to the Rattigan Academy, only a few more minutes away, as Ross explained some things to them, "UNIT's been watching the Rattigan Academy for ages. It's all a bit Hitler Youth. Exercise at dawn and classes and special diets."

"Turn left," the ATMOS announced.

"Ross, one question," the Doctor frowned, looking down at the ATMOS screen, "If UNIT thinks that ATMOS is dodgy…"

"How come we've got it in the jeeps?"

"Yeah."

"Ha, tell me about it. They're fitted as standard on all government vehicles. We can't get rid of them until we can prove there's something wrong."

"Turn right," the ATMOS announced.

"Drives me around the bend," he mumbled, turning around a corner and into the school drive.

"Oh, nice one," Evy laughed at how that worked out.

"Timed that perfectly," Ross grinned, winking at her.

"Ha…yeah…" the Doctor agreed, if a bit tensely, not feeling all that comfortable with what he deemed to be Ross flirting with Evy, "You did."

"This is your final destination," the ATMOS announced.

They pulled to a stop and got out of the jeep, walking up the pavement to see students in red sweat suits running around the building while a boy they recognized as Luke stood there and looked out at the grounds.

"Is it PE?" the Doctor called, "I wouldn't mind a kick-around. Got me daps on."

Luke turned around, "I suppose you're the Doctor," he glanced at him and then to Evy, "And Miss Daniels."

"Evy!" she shouted, she was getting very annoyed at everyone calling her 'Miss Daniels.'

"Hello," the Doctor just waved.

"Your commanding officer phoned ahead," Luke informed them.

"Oh, we haven't got a commanding officer," the Doctor replied, eyeing the boy for a moment, "Have you? Oh, this is Ross. Say hello, Ross."

"Afternoon, sir," Ross nodded.

The Doctor rushed to the main doors with Evy, "Let's have a look, then! I can smell genius...in a good way."

Luke rolled his eyes and stalked towards them, pushing the doors open and leading them through the academy. He brought them to a laboratory where some of the students were working on all manner of advanced projects. The Doctor and Evy looked around for a moment before wandering around, eyeing the random things that caught their gaze.

"Oh, now...that's clever!" the Doctor called, slipping on his specs as he came to a model of a molecule, "Look! Single-molecule fabric. How thin is that?! You could pack a tent in a thimble."

"Gravity simulators," Evy called over to him, walking around as well, "Terra-forming, biospheres, nano-tech steel construction..."

"Ha ha, this is brilliant!" the Doctor turned to Luke, "But y'know with equipment like this, you could, oh, I dunno...move to another planet or something."

"If only that was possible," Luke replied.

"If only that  _were_  possible," Evy corrected, coming to stand next to the Doctor as he removed his specs, "That was a conditional clause."

Luke looked up, startled, "I think you'd better come with me."

The Doctor and Evy shared a look before heading off after Luke, Ross following along. They went up a flight of stairs and down a hall of what looked like dorm rooms before coming to a very large bedroom, obviously Luke's.

"You're smarter than the usual UNIT grunts, I'll give you that," Luke commented, storming into his room.

"He called you a grunt," the Doctor looked over at Ross.

"Don't call Ross a grunt," Evy warned the boy, "He's nice. We like Ross."

"We do?" the Doctor looked over at her.

"Yes, we do," Evy smirked, "Jealous?"

The Doctor blinked before spinning around, "Look at this place..." he changed the subject, ignoring Evy's quiet laughter from behind him. He knew she had a connection not only to his mind but to his emotions as well...she'd definitely felt the small flash of...something. It wasn't jealousy. It wasn't! At least...he didn't think it was. It couldn't be...no...maybe...

"What exactly do you want?" Luke demanded.

"I was just thinking, what a responsible 18 year old," the Doctor continued, ignoring the genius for now, "Inventing zero-carbon cars, saving the world..."

"It takes a man with vision."

"Mmm, blinkered vision. 'Cos ATMOS means more people driving, more cars, more petrol, end result: the oil's gonna run out faster than ever."

"The ATMOS system will just make things worse," Evy agreed.

"Yeah, well, that's a tautology," Luke said quickly, getting upset, "You can't say 'ATMOS system' 'cos it stands for Atmospheric Emission System. So you're saying 'Atmospheric Emission System System.' Do you see, Mrs. Conditional Clause?"

Evy just blinked at how he'd completely overlooked the entirety of the consequences of the ATMOS for nitpicking her use of saying system after it, "...it's been a  _long time_  since anyone's said no to you, hasn't it?"

"I'm still right, though," he smirked.

"Not easy, is it, being clever?" the Doctor cut in, "You look at the world and you connect things, random things, and think, 'why can't anyone else see it? The rest of the world is so slow.'"

"Yeah," Luke agreed slowly, unsure of where the Doctor was going with this.

"And you're on your own."

"I know."

"But not with this," he pulled an ATMOS device out of his coat, "'Cos there's no way you invented this single handed. It might be Earth technology, but that's like finding a mobile phone in the Middle Ages," he tossed the device to Evy and walked towards a large, hollowed out cube in the corner of the room, "No, no, I'll tell you what it's like! It's like finding this in someone's front room. Albeit, a very big front room."

"Why?" Ross frowned, "What is it?"

"Yeah, just looks like a thing, doesn't it?" the Doctor grinned, "People don't question things. They just think, 'Oh, it's a thing.'"

"Leave it alone!" Luke shouted.

"Me, I make these connections," he walked inside it, "...and this to me looks like..." he pushed a few buttons, "...a teleport pod!"

"Don't!" Evy shouted, rushing forward. But it was too late, he'd disappeared. She cursed herself. He hadn't been thinking of doing that, but she should have known he would. She took another step towards the teleport when it started again and the Doctor reappeared, running out of it. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back with him.

Evy's eyes widened as she saw what had happened in his mind, "Ross, get out!" she shouted.

"Luke, you'd better come with us!" the Doctor called.

The teleport activated again and a Sontaran in full armor stepped out. The Doctor whipped out his sonic and aimed it at the controls, shorting them out, keeping more from following.

"Sontaran!" he shouted, pulling Evy behind him as he put away the sonic, "That's your name, isn't it? How did I know that, eh? Fascinating, isn't it? Isn't that worth keeping me alive?"

"I order you to surrender in the name of the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," Ross demanded, aiming his gun at the Sontaran.

"That won't work Ross," Evy told him, glancing at the Sontaran as she moved beside the Doctor, "Cordalaine signal," she looked back at Ross, "It creates a copper excitation that stops bullets."

"How do you know so much?" the Sontaran demanded, looking between her and the Doctor.

"Well..." the Doctor began, walking around the room.

' _Doctor…_ ' Evy spoke to him silently, noticing something, ' _Luke isn't startled. They know each other._ '

As though to confirm her thoughts, the Sontaran turned to Luke, "Who are they?"

"He didn't give his name," Luke said, "But her name is Evelyn Daniels."

"I have not heard of such a name. She is of no importance."

"Well, that's humbling," Evy mumbled.

She knew the Doctor was far better known than she was. He'd been off gallivanting across the Universe for centuries while she had been stuck on Gallifrey. She honestly didn't know what she should have expected. She had been hiding as a human for years, only just starting to reveal she was a Time Lady. But only she, and the Doctor, knew that she was his Link...no other alien knew, save maybe the Ood, being mildly telepathic. She knew that the name she had chosen for herself, Evelyn, and the fact she held a last name due to her time on Earth as well would throw off most species, make them think she was human as well. She shouldn't have been surprised that the Sontarans didn't recognize her as a Time Lady, or even as an alien. The Filter was still in place as well, operating at a far lower power than before, but perhaps it still had an affect on some species.

It just...hurt...a bit. To realize no one  _knew_  her. No one really knew her as a Time Lady, as the Last Time Lady, as one of the inspired, as the sister of the Master, the one who had led to... She shook her head free from that line of thought. She was all that...but it still wasn't enough.  _No one_  knew her completely, she wasn't important enough to the Universe, hadn't done as much. It was times like these that made her both relieved and sad that the Doctor hadn't Linked to her yet. Relieved because...he deserved better. He deserved someone who had done as much for the Universe as he had, someone recognized, someone as well-known and well-loved, someone deserving of the amazing person he was. And sad...because he  _did_  deserved better, she wasn't good enough. She wasn't all those things, all those wonderful things that he deserved in a Link. She would never be that famous or do that much for the Universe, be as important as he was...all she knew was that she loved him more than anyone in the Universe ever could, even Rose, and could only hope that it would be enough.

She glanced at the Doctor, relieved to see he was focused on the Sontaran in the room, if glaring at it for its words, and hadn't heard the thoughts filtering through her mind. She quickly buried her thoughts deep in her mind as fast as she could before he took notice of them. She didn't want him to hear her self doubts.

"This isn't typical Sontaran behavior, is it?" the Doctor snapped at the Sontaran, "Hiding? Using teenagers? Stopping bullets? A Sontaran should face bullets with dignity! Shame on you!"

"You dishonor me!" the Sontaran shouted.

"Then show yourself."

"I will look into my enemy's eyes," the Sontaran agreed, removing his helmet to reveal a brown, dome-shaped head with no neck. Evy really had to stop herself from laughing at how much he looked like a baked potato.

"Oh my God," Ross gasped.

"And your name?" the Doctor asked.

"General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet," he introduced, "Staal the Undefeated."

"That's not a very good nickname. What if you do get defeated? 'Staal-The-Not-Quite-So-Undefeated-Anymore-But-Never-Mind?'"

"Looks like a potato, a baked potato," Ross scoffed, "A talking baked potato."

"Now, Ross, don't be rude," the Doctor replied, leaning over and picking up a tennis racket and ball, "You look like a pink weasel to him. The Sontarans are the finest soldiers in the galaxy. Dedicated to a life of warfare," he twirled the racket in his hands, "A clone race grown in batches of millions with only one weakness…"

"Sontarans have no weakness!" Staal exclaimed.

"No, it's a good weakness."

"Aren't you meant to be clever?" Luke spat, "Only an idiot would provoke him."

"Only an idiot would work for them," Evy retorted before turning back to Ross to explain, "The Sontarans are fed by a probic vent in the back of their necks. It's their weak spot, since it's behind them they always have to  _face_  their enemy in battle."

"Isn't that brilliant?" the Doctor laughed, "They can  _never_  turn their backs!"

"We stare into the face of death!" Staal extolled.

"Yeah?" the Doctor raised an eyebrow, "Well, stare at this!" he hit the ball with the racket, sending it bouncing off the teleport pod to hit Staal in the vent. The general staggered, "Out!" he shouted, pushing Ross out as he grabbed Evy's hand, "Out! Out!"

"You and your cricket balls and such," Evy laughed as they ran out of the room, out of the academy, and back to the jeep to drive off.

"Greyhound Forty to Trap One," the Doctor called into the radio, "Repeat: can you hear me? Over."

"Why is it not working?" Ross asked as he drove as fast as he could back the way they'd come.

"It's gotta be the Sontarans," Evy replied, "If they can trace that thing," she nodded at the ATMOS, "Then they can  _isolate_  the ATMOS, control it."

"Turn left," the ATMOS announced.

"Try going right," the Doctor suggested.

"It says left," Ross frowned.

"I know. So go right."

He tried, but the wheel jerked to the left, he pulled his hands off it, the car driving itself, "I've got no control. It's driving itself. It won't stop," he tried the door, "The doors are locked!"

Evy flashed her sonic across the ATMOS screen, "It's deadlocked! We won't be able to stop it!"

"Turn left," the ATMOS announced as the jeep swerved in that direction.

"The sat-nav's just a box, wired through the whole car," the Doctor exclaimed as the tires screeched, the jeep moving off the road.

"We're heading for the river!" Ross shouted.

"ATMOS, you're programmed to contradict our orders, yes?" Evy asked quickly.

"Confirmed," the ATMOS agreed.

"Whatever we say, you're to ignore it?"

"Confirmed."

"Then drive into the river!" she shouted, "I order you, drive into the river!"

The jeep's brakes squealed to a halt right at the river's edge. The Doctor tried the doors once more, finding them unlocked, and jumped out, turning around to pull Evy out with him.

Ross jumped out his side and ran around the car to them as they all began to run away from the car.

"Turn right," the ATMOS began to short circuit, "Left. Left. Right."

"Get down!" the Doctor shouted, diving to the ground with Evy and Ross, each covering their heads and waiting for the inevitable fiery explosion.

"Left," the ATMOS continued, growing more high-pitched, "Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right."

There were sparks from the panel and a bit of smoke and…nothing.

The Doctor lifted his head and looked back, "Oh, is that it?"

Evy rolled her eyes at the surprise and disappointment in his voice before reaching out to smack him in the back of the head.

~8~

Luckily for them, they had driven far enough back to be able to walk to Donna's house with little time wasted. The Doctor rang the doorbell and Donna opened the door, "You would not believe the day I'm having."

She looked over at Evy who just shook her head, "You wouldn't happen to have an ATMOS would you?"

"Yeah…" Donna began slowly, "What happened?"

"Can we see it?"

Donna sighed and went into the house for the keys before leading them to the car. The Doctor quickly got to work examining the ATMOS on the engine while Evy tried to contact Martha.

"I'll requisition us a vehicle," Ross told them.

"Anything without ATMOS," the Doctor agreed, "And don't point your gun at people!"

Ross nodded and ran off, right past Donna's grandfather who was coming out of the house only to see two people standing with his granddaughter by the car.

"Is it them?" he asked, rushing over, excited, "Is it him? Is it the Doctor and Evy?" his eyes widened as he got a closer look at the man hovering over the engine and the woman on the phone, "Ah, it's you!"

"Who?" the Doctor asked, distracted, before looking up to see the very familiar old man.

"It's us," Evy smiled, "And it's you!" she stepped forward and gave the man a one-armed hug, startling him.

"What, have you met before?" Donna asked as Evy stepped back to stand by the Doctor.

"Yeah, Christmas Eve," her granddad nodded, "They disappeared right in front of me."

"And you never said?"

"Well,  _you_  never said," he countered before turning to the duo, "Wilf, sir, ma'am, Wilfred Mott. You must be some of them aliens."

"Well, yeah, but don't shout it out," the Doctor grinned, shaking Wilf's hand, "Nice to meet you properly Wilf."

"Ah, an alien hand," Wilf looked down at his hand before looking up at Evy, "And an alien hug!"

The Doctor smiled and turned to Evy, "Anything?"

"She's not answering," Evy shook her head, worried.

"What's it, 'Sontiruns?'" Donna asked, frowning.

"Sont _arans_."

"But there's got to be more to it," the Doctor mumbled, "They can't be just remote controlling cars. That's not enough. Is anyone answering yet?"

"Hold on!" Evy exclaimed, rolling her eyes at his impatience, "Martha?"

"Don't tell me…" she heard Martha begin on the other end.

She frowned, something was off. She looked up at the Doctor meaningfully as she spoke, "Martha, I'm putting the Doctor on."

She handed the phone to the Doctor who took it slowly and put it to his ear, "Martha, tell Colonel Mace it's the Sontarans. They're in the file, Code Red Sontarans. But if they're inside the factory, tell him not to start shooting, UNIT will get massacred. We'll get back as soon as we can. You got that?"

"Code Red Sontarans," Martha replied, "Gotcha."

The Doctor frowned, flipping the phone closed and handing it back to Evy who gave it to Donna. Something was definitely wrong with Martha. He turned back to the car, getting back to work on the engine, sonicing it along with Evy as Donna and Wilf looked on.

"You've tried sonicing it before," Donna said, "You didn't find anything."

"Yeah, but now we know it's Sontaran, we know what we're looking for," he reasoned.

"The thing is," Wilf began, "That Donna is my only grandchild. You gotta promise me you're gonna take care of her."

" _She_  takes care of _us_."

"Oh, yeah, that's my Donna," Wilf beamed proudly, "She was always bossing us around even when she was tiny. 'The Little General' we used to call her."

"Yeah," Donna frowned, "Don't start."

Evy frowned, focusing her sonic on a specific part of side of the ATMOS grid pattern. Seeing her focus the Doctor went to help.

"And some of the boys she used to turn up with, a different one every week," Wilf laughed, "Yeah, who was that one with the nail varnish?"

"Matthew Richards," Donna answered, "He lives in Kilburn now, with a man."

"Don't you worry Wilf," Evy replied as she and the Doctor soniced the same part, almost there, "We'll look after Donna no problem."

Just then spikes shot out of the holes in the device, making the Doctor and Evy jump back.

"Whoa!" the Doctor said, shocked.

"It's a temporal pocket!" Evy's eyes widened.

"I  _knew_  there was something else in there. It's hidden just a second out of sync with real time."

"But what's it hiding?" Donna frowned.

"I dunno, men and their cars!" Donna tensed as her mother walked up to see Evy and the Doctor with their heads back by the engine, "Sometimes I think if I was a car..." and then she saw the Doctor, "Oh, it's you! Doctor…what was it?"

"Yeah, that's me," he replied, not looking up as he half waved her off.

"Have you met them as well?" Wilf asked.

"No idea who she is," Mrs. Noble shot a distasteful look at Evy, "But dad, it's the man from the wedding! When you were laid up with Spanish flu. I'm warning you, last time that man turned up, it was a disaster!"

And then gas shot out of the spikes.

"Get back!" Evy shouted, pulling them back as the Doctor flashed his sonic, stopping the gas as the car sparked.

"That'll stop it," he breathed.

"I  _told_  you!" Mrs. Noble shouted, "He's blown up the car! Who is he anyway? And who's she? What sort of doctor blows up cars?"

"Oh, not now, mum!" Donna grumbled.

"Oh, should I make an appointment?" she stalked off, ready to call the ATMOS people.

"That wasn't just exhaust fumes," Evy commented, having caught a whiff of the gas that lingered, "Some sort of gas. Artificial I know that much," she flicked on her sonic, scanning the air around them, trying to catch lingering bits of the gas.

"And it's aliens, is it?" Wilf asked, "Aliens?"

"But if it's poisonous..." Donna began, "Then they've got poisonous gas in every car on Earth."

The Doctor's eyes widened as he looked around to see every car on the street labeled with an ATMOS sticker.

"It's not safe," Wilf determined, "I'm gonna get it off the street," he walked over to get in the car, the door shutting and locking behind him.

"No, don't!" Donna shouted as the car started up and thick exhaust came out of the tailpipe, "Turn it off!" Wilf was shaking his head, "Granddad, get out of there!" she tried to get the door open but it wouldn't budge.

"I can't!" Wilf called, holding up the keys, "It's locked! It's the aliens again!" he started to bang on the window, trying to get out.

"What's he doing?" Mrs. Noble shouted from the door of the house, "What's he done?"

"I've isolated it!" the Doctor shouted.

But then all the cars around them started to emit the gas.

"There's gas inside the car!" Donna cried, "He's gonna choke! Doctor! Evy!"

They ran around the car to Donna's side, trying to open it with their sonics, but to no avail.

"It won't open!" Evy shouted.

The car alarms went off and the Doctor looked up, gas filling the street, "It's the whole world!"

"Help me!" Wilf cried.

The Doctor ran around to the front to check the engine as Evy continued to try and get the door open.

Wilf coughed as Donna watched helplessly through the window. The Doctor yanked out some wires but it didn't help. He ran to the middle of the road, looking around, but there was nothing but the gas.

"Doctor!" Donna cried out to him as he stood there looking around, helpless.

To be continued…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Evy, feeling like she hasn't done anything important for the Universe...that will definitely change by the end of this series though :) And what were the rest of her thoughts about...the one who had led to...what? We'll find that out as well, but not till the End of Time, sorry, lol. Gotta say, I loved writing the little (microscopic) bit of Ross/Evy here, it was just too cute to pass up. There's absolutely nothing going on but the Doctor's reactions were needed :) And I love how she just whacks him when he's being a bit of an idiot, it's hysterical.
> 
> I hope it was believable that the Doctor DID feel Evy in his mind after the war but pushed the sensation away. It's sort of like those phantom limb cases, where it's gone but you still think it's there. He truly thought his people were gone, getting a little tickle in his mind would, to him, be just like a phantom limb. He wouldn't give any thought to it especially when he was fully convinced it was just him who survived.
> 
> Next chapter...what's this? A kiss?


	11. The Poison Sky

Things had gone from bad to worse faster than ever. Before the Time Lords could even fix one problem, another occurred. All the cars on Donna's street had begun releasing gas, choking everyone.

"Doctor!" Evy shouted at the Doctor as he stood in the middle of the street, looking around, "I need your sonic!"

He turned and ran back to her as Donna struggled to get her grandfather out of the gaseous car.

"He's gonna choke!" Donna shouted, "Doctor!"

"It won't open!" the Doctor tugged on the door.

"Doctor!" Evy yelled, "Sonic! Now!" he tossed her his sonic, not sure what she was going to do as they had tried the sonics already and it didn't work, "Cover your ears!" she shouted, before flipping them both on and jamming them at each other.

If Donna thought the sonic pen resonating with a sonic screwdriver was bad, it was even worse with two sonic screwdrivers. The high-pitched note echoed through the streets, smashing all the car windows.

Evy pulled the sonics away before the pitch could reach the houses and shatter them as well, "Well, don't just stand there!" she shouted, seeing Donna and the Doctor staring at her...Mrs. Noble with an axe a few feet away, "Help me get him out!"

That seemed to snap them out of their stupor as they quickly moved to her side to pull Wilf through the windshield area.

"Thanks!" Wilf called as they got him steady and Evy tossed the Doctor back his sonic.

"You are brilliant," he muttered, staring at her, wide eyed, as he caught it.

Donna looked up, shocked to see her mother standing there with an axe, "You've got an axe?"

"Burglars!" was all her mother said, having been ready to help get her father out of the car.

"Get inside the house," the Doctor told them, pushing them towards the house, "Just try and close off the doors and windows."

Ross pulled up in a black cab, "Doctor! Miss Daniels…"

"Ev…oh who cares," Evy threw her hands up. The Doctor smirked at her, if this weren't such a serious situation he would have laughed at how irritated she was getting at the formal use of her name.

"This is all I could find that hasn't got ATMOS."

The Doctor grabbed Evy's hand and pulled her towards the cab, shouting back at Donna who was handing her grandfather off to her mother, "Donna, you coming?"

"Yeah!" Donna shouted, turning to go to them.

"Donna!" her mother reached out to her, "Don't go! Look what happens every time that Doctor appears! Stay with us, please."

Wilf just pulled his daughter's hand away and nudged Donna, "You go my darling!"

"Dad!"

"Don't listen to her!" Wilf told Donna as she ran back to the cab, "You go with the Doctor and Evy! That's my girl!" he grinned widely as she stepped into the cab, though Evy could see she felt guilty for leaving her family, "Bye!" he waved.

They drove as though they were part of a car chase until they made it back to the ATMOS factory, the Doctor, Donna, and Evy jumping out almost before the cab stopped.

"Ross, look after yourself, get inside the building," the Doctor ordered.

"Will do," he nodded, picking up his radio, "Greyhound Forty to Trap One, I have just returned the Doctor and Miss Daniels to base, safe and sound, over."

They ran back to the entrance of the factory, Donna half gagging on the air, "The air is disgusting!"

"It's not too bad for us," Evy turned to her, "Respitory Bypass System. Get inside the TARDIS," then she spun on her heel to face the Doctor, "You haven't given her a key yet have you?"

He patted his pocket before pulling one out and handing it to the ginger, "Keep that! Go on, that's yours! Quite a big moment really!"

"Yeah, maybe we can get sentimental after the world's finished choking to death!" Donna replied sarcastically.

"Good idea!" he nodded, taking Evy's hand and pulling her towards the side of the factory.

"Where are you going?" Donna called after them.

"Stop a war!" Evy shouted back as they ran to the UNIT base while Donna turned and ran for the TARDIS. They forced their way back to the base to see soldiers running everywhere.

"Right then, here we are, good," the Doctor announced as they ran in.

Evy went straight over to Mace, "No matter what, Colonel Mace, don't engage the Sontarans in battle, they'd be all too eager to fight one."

"Just leave this to us," the Doctor ordered

"And what are you going to do?" Mace demanded.

"We've got the TARDIS. We're gonna get on board their ship."

"Come on!" Evy shouted, grabbing Martha's hand and pulling her out of the room followed by the Doctor.

' _Oh God, that smell!_ ' Evy moaned in his mind, having gotten a whiff of Martha.

' _I know, classic clone,_ ' he agreed, trying not to breathe through his nose.

They ran out the door, down a few alleys till they came to the one where the TARDIS had been parked, only to find it gone.

"But...where's the TARDIS?" 'Martha' asked.

' _Like you don't know,_ ' Evy grumbled in his mind.

"Taste that, in the air," the Doctor commented, "Yech. That sort of metal tang."

"Teleport exchange," Evy nodded, "It's the Sontarans, they've got the TARDIS."

"I'm stuck, on Earth like...like an ordinary person," the Doctor said in thought, Evy didn't bother to correct him that they were  _both_  stuck, of the two of them, he really would have more of a problem having not lived as a human like she had, "Like a human! How rubbish is that!" he turned to 'Martha' for a moment, "Sorry, no offence, but come on!"

"So what do we do?" 'Martha' asked.

"Well...I mean it's shielded, they could never detect it…" he began slowly, staring at her.

"What?" 'Martha' asked, growing uncomfortable with the two of them looking at her.

"I have to ask Martha," Evy murmured, "Did you phoned your family and Tom yet?"

"No, what for?" she frowned, confused.

"To tell them to stay inside because of the gas?"

'Martha's' eyes widened, "Course I will, yeah, but, what about Donna? I mean, where's she?"

"Oh, she's gone home," the Doctor lied, "She's not like you, she's not a soldier. Right. So, Avanti!"

They ran back to UNIT's base, rushing to the main control room to see people manning every computer with Mace standing in the back of the room, giving commands.

"Change of plan!" the Doctor shouted as they hurtled into the room.

"Good to have you fighting alongside us Doctor," the Mace replied, "Miss Daniels."

"We're not fighting. We're not-fighting, as in not hyphen fighting, got it?" the Doctor told him for what he hoped would be the final time, "Now, does anyone know what this gas is yet?"

"We're working on it," 'Martha' said, rushing past them to take a seat.

"It's harmful, but not lethal until it reaches 80 percent density," a blonde woman replied, standing up, "We're having the first reports of deaths from the center of Tokyo City."

"And who are you?" the Doctor frowned.

"Captain Marion Price, sir," she saluted.

"Oh, put your hand  _down_ ," he waved her off, "Don't salute."

"Jodrell Bank's traced a signal, Doctor, coming from 5,000 miles above the Earth," Mace added, bringing up a map, "We're guessing that's what triggered the cars."

Evy hit in a code on a command board before the computers and a red signal went out, showing a blip that had been hidden, "And there's the Sontaran ship."

"NATO has gone to Defcon One, we're preparing a strike."

"You can't do that," Evy spun to face him, " _Nuclear missiles_  won't leave a  _scratch_  on that thing."

"Let me talk to the Sontarans," the Doctor said.

"You're not authorized to speak on behalf of the Earth," Mace replied.

"Yes, he is," Evy replied, flashing her screwdriver over the control panel, connecting UNIT to the Sontarans, "He earned it a long time ago…" she stuck the sonic into the panel, "Calling the Sontaran Command Ship under Jurisdiction Two of the Intergalactic Rules of Engagement."

"This is the Doctor," he introduced.

"Doctor, breathing your last?" Staal appeared on screen.

"My God, they're like trolls," Mace gasped.

"Yeah,  _loving_  the diplomacy, thanks," the Doctor commented under his breath to Mace before turning back to the Sontarans, "So, tell me, General Staal, since when did you lot become cowards?"

"How dare you!" Staal looked appalled.

"Oh,  _that's_  diplomacy?" Mace rolled his eyes.

"Wait for it," Evy remarked, fiddling with her sonic, as the Doctor went to sit down at one of the computers, putting his feet on the panel before him.

"Doctor, you impugn my honor!" Staal glared.

"Yeah, I'm really glad you didn't say 'belittle' 'cos then I'd have a field day. But poison gas? That's the weapon of a coward and you know it. Staal, you could blast this planet out of the sky, and yet you're sitting up above watching it die. Where's the fight in that? Where's the honor? Or, are you lot planning something else? 'Cos this isn't normal Sontaran warfare. What are you lot up to?"

"A general would be unwise to reveal his strategy to the opposing force."

"Oh," Evy nodded, leaning forward, "Losing the war then?"

"Such a suggestion is impossible."

"What war?" Mace looked at her.

"For the last  _50,000 years_  the Sontarans have been at war with the Rutans," Evy explained sadly.

"50,000 years of  _bloodshed_ , and for what?" the Doctor asked.

"For victory. Sontar-ha!" Staal began as the other Sontarans around him began to chant, "Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha! Sontar-ha!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "Give me a break…" he pulled out his sonic and changed the channel to a cartoon, Tommy Zoom.

"Oh, I love this show," Evy commented.

"Doctor…I would seriously recommend that this dialogue is handled by official Earth representation," Mace straightened up, trying to sound authoritative.

The Doctor soniced the channel back to the ship, ignoring Mace, "Finished?"

"You will not be so quick to ridicule when you see our prize," Staal said, moving away to reveal the TARDIS behind him, "Behold! We are the first Sontarans in history to capture a TARDIS."

' _Donna's on the ship then,_ ' Evy remarked to the Doctor, seeing him nod ever so slightly, ' _We need to get in contact with her._ '

"As prizes go, that's... _noble_ ," the Doctor said, emphasizing the word, "As they say in Latin,  _donna_  nobis pacem. Did you never wonder about its design? It's phone box. It contains  _a phone_. A telephonic device for communication. Sort of symbolic. Like if only we could _communicate_. You and I."

"All you have communicated is your distress, Doctor," Staal laughed.

"Big mistake though," the Doctor smirked, "Showing it to me," he lifted up a small device, "'Cos I've got remote control."

"Cease transmission!" Staal shouted and the screen went black.

"Oh, well," he shrugged, getting up.

"That's achieved nothing," Mace glared at him.

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Evy smirked.

~8~

Donna was sitting in the TARDIS, clutching Martha's mobile before dialing home, "Mum? You alright?"

"Donna!" her mother answered, "Where are you sweetheart?"

"Is that her?" she could hear her grandfather ask.

"Oh, just finish the job," her mum called back, "Your granddad's sealing us in. He's sealing the windows. Our own house and we're sealed in! All those things they said about pollution and ozone and carbon, they're really happening aren't they?"

"There's people working on it, mum," she reassured her, "They're gonna fix it, I promise."

"Oh, like you'd know, you're so clever?"

"Oh don't start. Please, don't."

"I'm sorry. I wish you were here."

"Now, come on Sylvia, look," her grandfather said, "That doesn't help," she could hear the phone changing hands and her grandfather talking, "Donna? Where are you?"

"It's sort of hard to say," she looked around the TARDIS, "You alright?"

"Yeah, fighting fit, yeah. Are they with you, the Doctor and Evy?"

"Oh, the Doctor!" she heard her mother grumble.

"No," she frowned, "I'm all on my own."

"Look, you promised they were gonna look after you," Wilf admonished.

"They will, Gramps. There's...something they need me to do. I just don't know what."

"Well, I mean, the whole place is covered, the whole of London they're saying and the whole…the whole world. It's the scale of it, Donna. I mean, how can two people stop all that?"

"Trust me," she smiled, "They can do it. I've seen them do amazing things."

"Yeah, well if they don't, you tell them they'll have to answer to me."

"I will. Just as soon as I see them, I'll tell them."

And then she ended the call, and waited.

~8~

After their little stunt with the Sontarans, the Doctor and Evy had wandered over to where 'Martha' was standing in the back, flipping through some papers, staring at a container with the gas in it, scanning it. The Doctor walked over and plucked the clipboard from 'Martha,' holding it out for him and Evy to look through.

"There's carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, but 10 percent unidentified," 'Martha' told them, "Some sort of artificial heavy element we can't trace. You ever seen anything like it?"

"No," Evy mumbled as the Doctor shook his head as well, "It's new, something the Sontarans invented. It's not just poison though, they clearly  _need_  this gas for something else."

"What could that be?" the Doctor wondered out loud.

"Launch grid online and active," Price announced.

"Positions ladies and gentlemen, Defcon One initiatives in progress," Mace declared.

"What?!" the Doctor spun around to see them getting ready to launch, "I told you not to launch!"

"The gas is at 60 percent density, 80 percent and people start dying, Doctor. We've got no choice."

"Launching in 60, 59, 58, 57, 56…" Price counted down, "Worldwide nuclear grid now coordinating. 54, 53..."

"You're making a mistake, Colonel!" Evy shouted, coming to stand next to the Doctor by the main controls.

"For once, I hope the Sontarans are ahead of you," the Doctor added.

"North America, online," Price announced, "United Kingdom, online. France, online. India, online. Pakistan, online. China, online. North Korea, online. All systems locked and coordinated. Launching in 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5..."

"God save us," Mace prayed.

"...4, 3, 2, 1...0."

And then, the screen shut off.

"What is it?" Mace asked, shocked, "What happened? Did we launch? Well, did we?"

"Negative, sir," Price looked down at the controls, "The launch codes have been wiped, sir. It must be the Sontarans."

"Can we override it?"

"Trying it now, sir."

"Missiles wouldn't even  _dent_  their ship," Evy frowned and tilted her head to the side in thought, "So  _why_  are the Sontarans so keen to stop you?"

"Any ideas?" the Doctor looked back at 'Martha.'

"How should I know?" she asked.

"Enemy within!" Ross's voice suddenly came over the radio, "At arms! Greyhound Forty declaring absolute emergency. Sontarans within factory grounds, east corridor grid six."

Mace ran to the radio controls, "Absolute emergency, declaring Code Red. All troops, Code Red!"

"Get them out of there!" the Doctor shouted.

"All troops, open fire!"

"The guns aren't working," Ross replied after a moment, "Inform all troops, standard weapons do not work," there was a sound of other weapons firing and people screaming, "Tell the Doctor and Evy it's that cordalaine signal. They're the only ones who can stop them."

Then there was static.

"Greyhound Forty, report," Mace ordered, "Over. Greyhound Forty, report. Greyhound Forty, report!"

" _That_  wasn't  _Greyhound Forty_ ," Evy glared at him, " _He_  was  _Ross_."

"Now listen to me," the Doctor grit his teeth, nearly shaking in anger, "GET THEM OUT OF THERE!"

Mace actually had the decency to flinch, "Trap One to all stations. Retreat. Order imperative, immediate retreat!"

They listened in horror as reports came over the radio of soldiers trying to retreat and being shot down by Sontarans.

"They've taken the factory," Mace muttered.

"But why?" Evy shook her head, not understanding, "They don't  _need_  it. Why attack  _now_?"

"What are they up to?" the Doctor agreed, in thought, "Times like this, I could do with the Brigadier. No offence," he looked between Evy and Mace.

Evy just shrugged. She could remember the man from the Doctor's memories, he was a brilliant man. Even she could admit they could do with him as well.

"None taken," Mace replied, "Sir Alistair's a fine man, if not the best. Unfortunately he's stranded in Peru."

"Launch grid back online," Price announced as the screen turned back on…only to go black again, "They're inside the system, sir. It's coming from within UNIT itself."

"Trace it. Find out where it's coming from, and quickly. Gas levels?"

"66 percent in major population areas and rising."

"Why are they defending the factory only  _after_  we were inside?" Mace turned to the Doctor and Evy as his crew got to work.

"Because they wanted UNIT  _here_ ," Evy told him, slowly figuring out what the Sontaran's plans were, "You gave them something they  _needed_. Something now hidden _inside_  the factory."

"Then we've got to recover it. This cordalaine signal thing, how does it work?"

"The bullets," the Doctor explained, "It causes expansion of the copper shell."

"Excellent," he stood and began to leave, "I'm on it."

"For the billionth time, you can't fight Sontarans!" he called after the Colonel, but he was ignored. He stood up, glancing at Evy who stood as well and walked into a side room, "Phone," he asked a soldier quietly, "Have you got a phone? I need your mobile, quickly, hurry up!" the man handed him a mobile and he headed back into the Colonel's office where Evy was waiting. He tossed her the phone and she quickly called Martha's cell, Donna answered on the first ring.

"What's happened?" she asked, "Where are you?"

Evy held the phone up, switching it to speaker so they both could speak and hear her.

"Still on Earth," the Doctor answered, "But don't worry, we've got our secret weapon."

"What's that?"

"You," Evy replied.

"Somehow that's not making me happy," Donna groaned, "Can't you just zap us down to Earth with that remote thing?"

"Yeah, I haven't got a remote…" the Doctor trailed.

"You really should though," Evy suggested.

"You know," he paused in thought, "I've been meaning to but for some reason…"

"Oi!" Donna shouted, "Stuck in space here!"

"Right," he shook his head, "We need you on that ship. That's why I made them move the TARDIS. I'm sorry, but you've got to go outside."

"But there's Sonterruns out there."

"Sont _arans_ ," Evy corrected, "Don't worry Donna, they'll be at their battle stations right now. It's not like they're about to sit down and take tea. We'll talk you through it."

"But what if they find me?" Donna whispered, sounding very scared.

"I know, and we wouldn't ask, but there's nothing else we can do," the Doctor frowned, not liking this plan at all. Evy took his hand, she wasn't a fan either, but if anyone could do it, Donna could, "The whole planet is choking, Donna."

"Remember," Evy added, "Super Temp? I'm making you a cape?"

Donna laughed a bit before taking a breath, "What d'you need me to do?"

"The Sontarans are inside the factory which means they've got a teleport link with the ship, but they'll have deadlocked it," the Doctor began, "We need you to reopen the link."

"But I can't even mend a fuse."

"Donna!" Evy snapped, grabbing the phone from the Doctor, "You've got to stop talking about yourself like that. You are  _amazing_! You  _can_  do this. I promise. You're Super Temp remember?"

They could hear Donna open the TARDIS door before closing it quietly, "There's a Sonterrun...Sontaran."

"Did he see you?" the Doctor asked.

"No, he's got his back to me."

"Ok, Donna listen," Evy took a breath, looking up at the Doctor, "On the back of the neck of his collar there'll be a sort of plug, a hole, the probic vent. It only takes one blow to the probic vent to knock them out."

"But he's gonna kill me," Donna breathed.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor swallowed hard, "I swear, I'm so sorry. But you've got to try."

There was silence on the line before there was a thump.

"Back of the neck!" Donna hissed triumphantly.

"Now then, you gotta find the external junction feed to the teleport," the Doctor told her, grinning at Evy.

"What...what's it look like?"

"A circular panel on the wall," Evy stepped up, "There should be a big symbol on the front, like a letter T with a line through it. Or two Fs back-to-back."

"Well, there's a door…"

"There should be a switch by the side of it."

"Yeah there is," they could hear the frown in Donna's voice, "But it's Sontaran-shaped, you need three fingers."

The Doctor gave Evy a look before turning back to the phone slowly, "You've got three fingers."

"Oh, yeah!" Donna laughed at her momentary lapse. They could hear something slide open, "I am through!"

"Oh, you are brilliant Donna!" Evy exclaimed as the Doctor kissed the phone.

"Shut up," Donna replied, but Evy could just imagine the proud smirk on her face, "Right. T with a line through it."

The Doctor looked up to see Mace returning to the room and nudged Evy who looked up again, "Got to go," he said into the phone, "Keep the line open!"

"Counter-attack!" Mace shouted as they ran in to the room.

"We said you don't stand a chance!"

"Positions," Mace called to his crew, "That means everyone!" he tossed a gasmask to the Doctor and Evy.

"You're not going without me!" 'Martha' declared, standing up.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Evy replied, watching 'Martha' closely as they headed out.

They followed the crowd to the ATMOS factory where it seemed the whole of UNIT had gathered, all wearing gasmasks. Evy sighed and pulled hers over her face, elbowing the Doctor into putting his own on.

"Latest firing stock, what do you think Doctor?" Mace asked as they walked over, he was holding up a gun for them.

"Are you my mummy?" the Doctor asked before Evy smacked him upside the head.

"If you could concentrate," Mace rolled his eyes, though filled with humor at Evy's action, "Bullets with a rad-steel coating, no copper surface. Should overcome the cordalaine signal."

"But the Sontarans have got lasers! You can't even see in this fog, the night vision doesn't work."

"Thank you Doctor, thank you for your lack of faith but this time, I'm not listening," he pulled off his gasmask and turned to face his soldiers, "Attention, all troops! Sontarans might think of us as primitive. As does every passing species with an axe to grind. They make a mockery of our weapons, our soldiers, our ideals. But no more! From this point on, it stops. From this point on, the people of Earth fight back and we show them! We show the warriors of Sontar what the human race can do! Trap One to Hawk Major! Go, go, go!"

They looked up as a loud sound came from the sky and the fog started to clear.

"It's working!" Mace shouted, "The area's clearing. Engines to maximum!"

The Doctor looked down, alarmed, when he felt someone grip his arm tightly, "The  _Valiant_ …" Evy breathed, her eyes fixed on the craft hovering above them, blowing away the gas.

He frowned, reaching out to take her hand as she had done so often for him. He knew the sight of the ship was not a welcome one, it could only bring up terrible memories of the death of her brother. He pulled her to him a bit more, wrapping an arm around her.

"UNIT Carrier Ship  _Valiant_  reporting for duty, Doctor!" Mace grinned, "With engines strong enough to clear away the fog."

Everyone began to pull off their masks. The Doctor gently pulled off Evy's, seeing her attention focused on the  _Valiant_. He could see the tears beginning to pool in her eyes, "Hey," he whispered to her, "You alright?"

She blinked and took a deep breath before nodding and turning to look at him, forcing a small smile, "It's brilliant, though, isn't it? A brilliant plan?"

He could only nod at her trying to find the good in something she associated with such horrible times.

"Getting a taste for it, Doctor?" Mace looked over at them, still celebrating in his victory.

"No, not at all," the Doctor replied solemnly as Evy looked away, "Not us."

Seeing Evy's reaction, Mace seemed to realize what had just transpired and turned away from them, " _Valiant_ , fire at will!"

Green beams shot out of the bottom of the  _Valiant_  and converged on the ATMOS factory while a number of UNIT soldiers began to attack on ground as well. And it seemed to work, the Sontarans seemed to be overpowered, allowing them all access to the factory.

"East and North secure," Mace said, turning around, only to see the Doctor and Evy rushing off down another corridor, "Doctor? Miss Daniels?"

"Donna, hold on," the Doctor said over the phone, ignoring Mace as they ran down the corridor with 'Martha,' "We're coming."

"Shouldn't we follow the colonel?" 'Martha' asked as the Doctor and Evy turned to run down a separate hallway than the soldiers.

"Nah, you, Evy, and me, Martha Jones," the Doctor grinned as Evy pulled out her sonic and began to lead the way, "Just like old times!"

"Alien technology, this way!" Evy shouted, rushing down the hall.

They ran down a few sets of stairs and into the basement, Evy turning to head towards a door at the end.

"No Sontarans down here," the Doctor commented, "They can't resist a battle. Here we go."

They pushed the door open to see a dimly lit laboratory with another Martha, the real one they knew, strapped to a metal basket-like object, asleep. They immediately rushed to her side.

"Martha!" Evy shouted, flashing her sonic on the cuffs around Martha's wrists.

"Ooh, Martha, I'm so sorry," the Doctor moved to check her pulse, "Still alive."

They heard someone cock a gun and Evy glanced up to see Martha's clone holding one trained on them.

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" the Doctor asked, completely unconcerned.

"Wish you carried a gun now?" Clone Martha smirked.

"Not at all."

"I've been stopping the nuclear launch all this time."

"Which is exactly what we wanted," Evy commented, looking up, "We needed to stop the missiles, as much as the Sontarans did. We're not about to let the Earth start a war."

"When did you know?"

"What, about you?" the Doctor stood up and looked at her, walking around her as though examining her, "Oh, right from the start. Reduced iris contraction, slight thinning of the hair follicles on the left temple."

"And you  _smell_ ," Evy grimaced, getting the last cuff undone.

"You might as well have worn a t-shirt saying 'clone,'" the Doctor added, walking back over to Evy and the real Martha, "Although, maybe not in front of Captain Jack. You remember him, don't you? 'Cos you've got all her memories. That's why the Sontarans had to protect her, to keep you inside UNIT. Martha Jones is keeping you alive."

He reached out and pulled the device off of Martha's head. She woke up with a scream, straight into Evy's awaiting arms, at the same time that the clone fell to the ground clutching her chest in agony. The Doctor rushed over and kicked the gun away.

"It's alright," Evy whispered to Martha, rocking her back and forth as she hugged her, "It's alright, I'm here, we're here. I've got you."

"There was this thing," Martha tried to explain, "This alien, with this head..."

The mobile rang.

"Oh, blimey I'm busy," the Doctor mumbled before flipping the phone open as Evy helped Martha up, "Got it?"

"Yes!" Donna shouted so loud that even Evy could hear it, "Now hurry up!"

"Take off the covering," the Doctor continued, "All the blue switches inside, flick them up like a fuse box. And that should get the teleport working."

Martha stepped out of the basket, her eyes widening as she saw something leaning against a beam a few feet away, her clone, "Oh, my God," she gasped, "That's me."

"Yeah," the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, tugging off his coat and handing it to Martha, "Sorry 'bout that…"

He walked over to the teleport and began to work on it while Evy helped Martha walk to her clone's side, still shaky from her ordeal. When Martha was stationed, sitting down next to the clone, Evy made her way over to the Doctor, helping him.

' _Doctor,_ ' Evy whispered to him silently, ' _I have an idea but I need to get back to the Rattigan Academy._ '

He looked up at her a moment before nodding and getting to work, changing the coordinates from the Sontaran ship like he'd been planning to the Academy.

"Don't touch me!" the clone shouted as Martha reached out for her.

"It's not my fault," Martha told her, "The Sontarans created you. But...you had all my memories."

"You've got a brother, sister, mother, and father."

"If you don't help me, they're gonna die."

"You love them."

"Yes. Remember that?"

"The gas!" the Doctor shouted, "Tell us about the gas," and then there was some sort of smack and the Doctor yelping in pain. Martha almost laughed as she could picture the new Evy was one to smack him when he was an idiot.

"He's the enemy!" the clone spat.

"Then tell  _me_ ," Martha tried, "It's not just poison, what's it for? Martha, please!"

The clone hesitated for a moment before sighing, "Caesofine concentrate. It's one part of Bosteen, two parts Probic 5."

"Clone feed!" the Doctor shouted, stepping out of the teleport, Evy following behind, "It's clone feed!"

"What's clone feed?" Martha frowned.

"Like amniotic fluid but for Sontarans," Evy replied, " _That's_  why they're not invading, they're converting the atmosphere. Changing the planet into a clone world."

"Earth becomes a great big hatchery," the Doctor agreed, "'Cos the Sontarans are clones, that's how they reproduce. Give 'em a planet this big, they'll create billions of new soldiers. That gas isn't poison, it's food!"

He ran back into the teleport, Evy hesitating as she watched the two Marthas.

"My heart...it's getting slower," the clone murmured.

"There's nothing I can do," Martha frowned.

"In your mind, you've got so many plans. There's so much that you wanna do."

"And I will," Martha tried to smile, "Never do tomorrow what you can do today, my mum says. 'Cos..."

"'Cos you never know how long you've got," the clone finished, "Martha Jones...all that life..." and with a short exhale of breath, the clone died. Martha slowly reached out and pulled her engagement ring off the clone's finger and put it on her own.

"Doctor!" they heard a small voice shout, Donna's, over the phone. Evy went over and helped Martha up, now able to stand and walk on her own a bit better as they headed back to the teleport to see the Doctor pick up the phone, "Blue switches done…" they heard a door slide open and the sound of marching, "But they've found me!"

"Now!" the Doctor shouted, jumping out of the teleport and flashing his sonic at it, activating it. Donna appeared on the pad, stiff for only a moment before running forward to hug them.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" she asked them.

"We love you too Donna," Evy grinned.

"Hold on, hold on," the Doctor pulled away, "Get off me, get off me! Gotta bring the TARDIS down," he soniced the teleport once more and the TARDIS was beamed down back where it had been, in the alley. He turned back to face the women, "Right, now. Martha, you coming?"

"What about this nuclear launch thing?" Martha frowned.

"Keep pressing N," Evy tossed her the PDA the clone had been using, "It'll keep the missiles on the ground."

Donna looked over at Martha and saw the clone behind her, "But there's...two of them."

"Yeah, long story…" the Doctor motioned for them to hurry and they all ran to get inside the teleport pod, "Here we go. The old team, back together! Well, the new team."

"We're not going back on that ship!"

"No, no, no. No. I needed to get the teleport working so that we could get to..." they teleported back to the Rattigan Academy, "...here! The Rattigan Academy, owned by..." they looked over to see Luke approaching them with a gun pointed at them.

"Don't tell anyone what I did!" Luke shouted, "It wasn't my fault, the Sontarans lied to me, they..."

The Doctor stormed forward and grabbed the gun from him as Evy ran past him and towards the lab, "If I see one more gun..." he tossed it away.

"You know," Donna commented, looking at Martha in the Doctor's coat as they followed the Time Lords, "That coat, sort of works."

"Feel like a kid in my dad's clothes," Martha blushed.

"Oh, well if you're calling him dad you're  _definitely_ , completely, 100 percent over him," Donna teased, knowing full well Martha had been over the Doctor a while ago.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked as they caught up to the Doctor and Evy in the lab. Evy was rushing around grabbing various pieces of equipment while the Doctor stood at a table, watching her assemble it, curious as to where she was going with this.

"The Sontarans  _had_  to stop the missiles," Evy spoke, grabbing a device two tables over, "They had to be careful because caesofine gas is volatile,  _that's_  why they had to use you to stop the nuclear attack. Ground-to-air engagement would spark off the whole thing."

"What, like set fire to the atmosphere?" Martha frowned.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, watching Evy, "They need all the gas intact to breed their clone army. And all the time we had Luke here in his dream factory. Planning a little trip, were we?"

"They promised me a new world," Luke muttered.

"You were building equipment, ready to terra-form anything so that humans could live there and breathe the air with this!" Evy held up the finished product, "An atmospheric converter."

"Brilliant!" the Doctor shouted as Evy picked up the converter and headed for the doors. He held them open as they all ran outside.

"That's London," Donna gasped, seeing the gas surrounding it, "You can't even see it. My family's in there."

"Just have to find the right setting…" Evy mumbled, fiddling with the controls.

"Hold on," Martha frowned, "You said the  _atmosphere_  would  _ignite_."

"Yeah, I did, didn't I?" he asked.

And then Evy pressed a button, shooting a flame up into the sky. The gas ignited and spread, dissipating and burning the gas, revealing clear blue sky.

"She's a genius!" Luke shouted.

"You didn't think I was the only one did you?" the Doctor grinned down at Evy.

"Just brilliant!" Martha breathed.

But then the Doctor's eyes widened, "Now we're in trouble!" he grabbed the converter and ran back into the building straight to the teleport pad, sonicing it on the way.

"Doctor…" Evy began slowly, watching him carefully as he stood there. He was hiding his thoughts, but she _knew_  what he was thinking. After so many centuries in his mind, she  _knew_ what he was planning, what he felt he had to do.

"Right, so..." he swallowed and looked at them, "Donna, thank you. For everything. Martha, you too. Oh...so many times. Luke, do something clever with your life. Evy…" he trailed off, sadness in his eyes as Evy began shaking her head.

"You're saying goodbye," Donna gasped.

"You can't!" Evy shouted, feeling terror rise in her.

"Sontarans are never defeated," the Doctor replied, looking straight at her, knowing she understood, "They'll be getting ready for war. And, well, you know, I can recalibrate this for Sontaran air, so..."

"You're gonna ignite them," Martha blinked back tears.

"You'll  _kill_  yourself," Donna shook her head.

"Just send that thing up, on its own. I don't know...put it on a delay."

"He can't," Evy frowned, tears actually running down her cheeks even though she wasn't openly crying.

"Why not?" Donna looked over at her.

"He's got to give them a  _choice_ ," Evy finished, he wouldn't be the Doctor if he didn't…but she could still…

The Doctor stared at her, his eyes widening just a fraction at her thoughts before he set the converter down and rushed towards her, pulling her to him, into a kiss.

But unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy it.

Neither could Evy.

For as soon as his lips met hers, moments later, she fell into his arms, unconscious.

"What did you  _do_!?" Donna demanded, rushing to Evy's side as he set her down.

"I  _had_  to," he muttered quietly, staring at her prone form, "She made a promise once…"

"She'd take your place if you got trapped," Martha nodded, walking over to kneel at Evy's side with Donna as the Doctor stepped away.

"I couldn't let her do that," he stumbled back to the teleport and picked up the converter, hitting a button and disappearing.

"He needs to come back alive," Martha said, staring the pod as Donna stroked Evy's hair, "For her sake."

"What do you mean?" Donna looked up, alarmed.

Martha looked down at Evy and then up to Donna, "She told you…about the Link?" Donna nodded, "If he dies…" she swallowed hard, "So does she."

"Oh God," Donna gasped, trying to blink back tears.

"But it's worse than that," Martha's voice broke, "It's not just death, she doesn't  _just_  die…she's destroyed. From the inside out, she's just…" she couldn't even finish her thought, it was too painful.

She remembered, clearly, what Evy had told her about the Link, about how it worked if one party died. It was the end for the Link who survived. They were literally destroyed, crushed by pain, surrounded in agony, constant and all consuming misery. Nothing was worth living for anymore. Nothing could bring joy, there was just endless pain until they were able to end their life without regeneration.

Neither woman noticed Luke look from the young woman on the ground to the teleport with purpose.

They did, however, notice when he ran to the pad and began working on the controls.

"What are you doing?" Martha sniffled, holding back her tears as she held Evy's hand, anticipating that, any moment now, her friend would be hit with that terrible pain.

"Something clever," was all he said before he pushed a key and teleported to the Sontaran ship, zapping the Doctor back to the academy.

The Doctor appeared in the teleport pod, looking confused as to how he'd gotten there. He moved forward to sit on the edge of the pod in relief. Martha rushed to him, smiling and hugging him before running back to Evy's side, trying to rouse the girl.

Donna, however, marched towards him with a fierce glare on her face and smacked him on the arm as hard as she could, "That's what Evy would have done if she were  _awake_ ," she told him, her voice thick with emotion as she mad her way back to Evy as well, "You deserve far worse for what you were going to do."

The Doctor could only look over at Evy, lying between the two women with wide, regretful eyes.

~8~

When Evy woke up, she didn't yell.

She didn't glare.

She didn't hit him or anything she had right to do.

Instead, she just sat up and looked over at him for a moment, before pushing herself up and walking out of the room. Martha, Donna, and the Doctor had been stunned, fully expecting the woman to at least punch him.

But the worst thing, was that she didn't speak at all, not out loud, not in her mind.

The Doctor's mouth had dropped open when she threw up her mental barriers so he couldn't hear her. The silence was back in his mind. The deafening, all consuming silence. He hadn't been able to cope with the silence in his mind after the war, the buzz of their people gone. When Evy had been revealed as a Time Lady, allowed her mind open to him...he hadn't realized how present the sensation of her in his mind had been till it had been taken away, till now.

He'd tried to talk to her, tried to apologize, but she said nothing. She barely acknowledged him when he managed to find her in the TARDIS hours later. But she just stood there, at the console, looking down at it, absently fiddling with a switch or two, ignoring him completely, shying away from every touch of the shoulder or hand that he tried to give her. He was nearing pulling his hair out. He didn't like her being mad at him. He just…

He didn't like her being _hurt_  because of him.

"Please," he begged, "Tell me what's wrong so I can  _fix_  it."

He'd apologized for everything he could think of. For taking the converter, for knocking her out, even for kissing her, but she hadn't relented.

Evy tensed, her hands curling into fists on the console as she spun to face him, "You  _knew_ ," she said, glaring at him, "You  _knew_  how I felt about you and you used it against me. It would have been one thing if you wanted to kiss me solely to kiss me goodbye…but it is quite another when you use it to  _knock me out_! You  _knew_  I wouldn't be able to maintain my mental defenses if you did that and you took advantage of it! You took advantage of my feelings, of my emotions, of the  _Link_! And you  _used it_  against me!"

It hurt. It hurt  _so_  badly that he was  _willing_  to manipulate her like that. It hurt even more to know he was willing to leave her. She knew he wasn't Linked to her, but for him to die…her life would be over. She would be nothing but pain and darkness, not Evy anymore. He was willing to condemn her to that fate and he was willing to use her Link against her to drive her to it!

She let out a frustrated scream before spinning on her heel and stalking off.

"You really are a great, big, outer space dunce, aren't you?" a voice said.

He looked over to see Donna and Martha walking into the TARDIS. Martha had apparently sensed Evy's mood and decided to wait outside the TARDIS for the other companion, they had come in just at the end of Evy's rant, and neither looked very happy with him at the moment. Martha was just shaking her head at him in disappointment while Donna just strode past him and went over to Evy, who was standing against the back wall, putting her hand on her shoulder and speaking quietly to her, trying to calm down the hurt Time Lady.

The Doctor looked down at the floor as Martha stepped forward, "A woman's heart, her feelings, they're  _everything_ ," Martha explained quietly to him, "When they're toyed with…" she held up her hand to stop him, "Even if it may be for noble reasons…it  _hurts_ , a lot. Imagine what it must have been like for her," she nodded at Evy who was in a quiet conversation with Donna, "She  _loves_  you, she's  _Linked_  to you, and there you are, about to go and do something ridiculously noble and you stride over to her and kiss her…and she thinks, you actually  _return_  her feelings, the ones she feels for you, that you accept the Link and are ready to move on…the  _only_  thing she really wants in all the Universe…only to have it be some ploy of yours to stop  _her_  from trying to do something ridiculously noble for  _you_. That's got to hurt."

He looked up at Evy who looked near tears once more as she spoke to Donna and sighed. He understood. He hadn't thought. He hadn't thought  _at all_  when he'd done that. He could only think about her promise to step in if he couldn't escape something and he just  _couldn't_  let her do that, not for him. He'd done the only thing he could think of to get her to stay behind completely forgetting the consequences to her if he had seen his plan through to the end. He would have hurt her more than anything had he died. And the way he'd gone about it...

She was right.

He'd used the Link against her.

And that was almost worse than anything he could have ever done to her.

He pushed off the console and stepped towards Evy, fully prepared to grovel for her forgiveness, when the TARDIS gave a nasty jolt, sending them all to the floor.

"What?" he shouted, trying to grab onto the console and pull himself up, "What!?"

"Doctor, don't you dare!" Martha yelled.

"No, no, no!" he called back, "I didn't touch anything! We're in flight, it's not me!"

"Where are we going?" Donna asked as she and Evy managed to grab onto the railing.

"I don't know, it's out of control!" he shook his head, staring at the screen as they flew into the unknown.

To be continued…

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh the fury of a Time Lady eh? It seems the Doctor's in for it now. I know it's been really slow going with the Evy/Doctor relationship, I'm really sorry for that. But hang on just a little longer, I promise it is definitely going to start picking up next chapter. Jenny will definitely have an impact on their relationship and act as a catalyst to them.
> 
> Next chapter...will Jenny get a 'mum' or a 'stepmum'?


	12. The Doctor and Evy's Daughter

The TARDIS jolted violently as the Doctor and the girls clung to any available surface to try and steady themselves. Evy had managed to push Donna over to the console, each of them grabbing on as the Doctor tried to regain some control, flipping switches and pulling levers. Sparks were flying, concerning Evy, as Donna and Martha screamed.

"What the hell's it doing?" Donna yelled.

"Controls aren't working!" the Doctor shouted, though more to Evy who actually knew how to work the TARDIS than anyone else. He tried to reach a control but sparks flew up and he fell to the floor next to his hand in the jar, bubbling wildly, "I don't know where we're going but my old hand's very excited about it!"

"I thought that was just some freaky alien thing!" Donna's eyes widened as she stared at the jar, "You telling me it's yours?"

"Well…" he began, pulling himself up.

"It got cut off," Martha shouted over, "He grew a new one!"

"You are completely...impossible!" Donna turned to the Doctor as he grabbed a control that seemed stuck and tried to pull it out, using his foot on the console as leverage.

"Not impossible, just...a bit unlikely!" he shouted.

"Oh honestly!" Evy called, rushing over to help him with the lever he was trying to pull. A moment later it shifted and the TARDIS made one last rebellious explosion, throwing Evy, Donna, and Martha to the floor, the Doctor falling on the captain's chair as the box landed.

"What happened?" Donna gasped, pulling herself up.

Evy pushed herself up, glaring at the Doctor, "I think the TARDIS is as cross with you as I am."

He looked up at the TARDIS, concern and a bit of fear in his eyes. He knew how much the TARDIS had come to care for Evy and if the TARDIS had brought them there, he could only imagine what horrors would await him outside that door as punishment for hurting Evy the way he had.

He watched as Evy walked over to the door and stepped outside to see where they were before getting up and quickly running after her, "Evy!" he called, rushing over to her and pulling her to face him. He took her hand in his, "I'm sorry, I'm so,  _so_  sorry," he told her, looking in her eyes, "I mean it, I…I  _never_  should have done that, used the Link like that. I wasn't thinking and I know I've hurt you badly," she looked away, but he squeezed her hand getting her to look back up at him, "But I'm going to do anything I can to make it up to you. And I swear, I'll  _never_  do that to you again because…contrary to what you're probably thinking…I really  _do_  care about you, quite a lot."

She frowned and tried to look away but couldn't. It was times like these when she almost hated the Link. It would have been one thing for the Doctor to apologize with words, but she could feel what he was feeling. He felt sad, and hurt, and guilty, oh so guilty. He truly was repentant about what he'd done to her, he meant everything he was saying. She could see in his mind as well, he would NEVER do that to her again, EVER.

She sighed, "Just…give me time," she told him, but gave a little smile so he would know she wouldn't stay mad at him forever.

He let out a little breath and smiled as well. She placed her other hand on top of his, squeezed it gently and then stepped away from him to look around, trying to ignore Donna and Martha who were standing just outside the TARDIS, watching them.

They seemed to be in some sort of underground tunnel, it was littered with junk, rubble, and old equipment of some sort. The Doctor moved to take Evy's hand and go to look around, but hesitated, instead shoving his hands into his pockets. He told himself it was so he wouldn't be tempted or reach out to her unconsciously, but a small voice in the back of his mind nagged him that it was to preserve the warmth her hands had given his.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here?" the Doctor asked as though to force his lingering thoughts out of his mind.

"Oh, I love this bit," Martha grinned.

"I thought you wanted to go home," Evy glanced back at her as she stood from examining a piece of scrap.

"I know, but all the same..." Martha shrugged. Evy rolled her eyes as the Doctor licked his finger and held it up, "It's that feeling you get..."

"Like you swallowed a hamster?" Donna asked.

Suddenly a loud noise echoed down the tunnel. They looked over to see three soldiers running through the tunnel straight at them, guns ready.

"Don't move, stay where you are!" one soldier shouted, lifting his gun, "Drop your weapons."

They quickly raised their hands, the Doctor moving to step in front of Evy, who would have none of that and moved beside him, "We're not armed! Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe."

"Look at their hands," another soldier said, "They're clean."

"Alright, process them!" the first soldier ordered, "Him first."

Two soldiers moved towards the Doctor, grabbing him and dragging him towards a strange machine.

"Oi, oi!" he shouted, "What's wrong with clean hands?"

"What's going on?" Martha asked as they ran after him.

"Leave him alone!" Donna shouted.

"Get off him!" Evy tried to shove one of the soldiers but the first solder grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

The two soldiers forced his hand into the machine. He yelped as the machine powered up.

"Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressure," he grumbled before yelling in pain, "ARGH!"

"What're you doing to him?" Donna demanded.

"Everyone gets processed," the soldier holding Evy replied.

"It's taken a tissue sample," the Doctor told them, "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! And extrapolated it! Some kind of accelerator?"

"It's a cloning device," Evy muttered, her eyes wide on the machine.

The Doctor stumbled away as the machine let him go and looked at his hand, the girls running over to his side as the soldier holding Evy let her go as well. He looked up at a set of doors just behind the machine.

"Are you alright?" Martha took his hand and examined it, a Y-shaped graze on the back of it.

But the Doctor wasn't paying attention as his gaze was focused on the doors along with Evy.

"What on Earth?" he breathed, "That's just..."

They opened and a woman with blond hair and blue eyes stepped out of it, smoke billowing around her. She looked around, curious, and Evy's eyes widened as she recognized just where that curiosity came from, she glanced at the Doctor.

"Arm yourself!" the first soldier said, handing the girl a gun that she handled naturally.

"Where did she come from?" Martha asked.

"From me," the Doctor breathed.

"No," Evy shook her head slowly and began to walk towards the woman, ignoring the Doctor trying to pull her back. She came to stand in front of the young woman, unperturbed by the gun she was holding, "No…she…she's from  _us_."

"From you?!" Donna looked between them, "How?"

"You took my hand Doctor," Evy replied quietly, glancing back at him, "Skin cells must have shaken loose…" she turned back to the woman, her head tilted as she just looked at her.

"Who is she?" Martha asked.

"Well...she's...well...she's my daughter," the Doctor stared in shock, "Mine and Evy's."

The woman smiled and looked up at him, "Hello dad!" and then nodded at Evy, "Mum."

The first soldier stepped up and took the girl's arm, pulling her off as Donna slowly pulled Evy back towards them, though she was still staring at the woman in shock.

"You primed to take orders, ready to fight?" the soldier asked her.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir," she answered, "Generation 5,000 soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready."

"Did you say daughter?" Donna looked at the Doctor.

"Mhmm," he nodded, distracted, "Technically."

"Technically how?" Martha frowned.

"Progenation," Evy replied, shaking her head as though to clear her thoughts, but it didn't seem to work, "It should be reproduction from a single organism, one parent is both the biological mother and father."

"You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement, and grow," the Doctor nodded, "Very quickly, apparently."

"But she's from the  _both_  of us."

"She doesn't look like you," Donna replied softly.

"Children of Time Lords, the children's first incarnations, can be conceived of any combination of our previous incarnations DNA. She's got my hair," she breathed.

"Um…she does?" Martha frowned, looking at Evy's black hair and the woman's blonde.

Evy shook her head, actually snapping out of her thoughts this time, "My third incarnation was blonde, exactly that shade," she glanced back at the Doctor, "She's got your fifth incarnation's eyes."

He started to nod as though starting to notice other similarities in appearnace between him and the girl before shaking his head fiercely.

"Something's coming!" the woman shouted as purple, fish-like creatures began to run down the tunnel shooting at them.

"It's the Hath!" the first soldier shouted as they fired back.

"Get down!" the woman shouted back at them as they ducked, Evy and Donna running behind a broken down truck while the Doctor and Martha hid behind a crate.

"We have to blow the tunnel!" the first soldier ordered, "Get the detonator!"

"I'm not detonating anything!" the Doctor yelled, rushing forward to try and undo the detonator.

The woman kicked a Hath in front of her, punching it, before turning and grabbing the detonator just before the Doctor could reach it.

"Blow that thing, blow the thing!" the soldier ordered.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he saw the Hath pulling Martha away, "Martha!"

"No!" Evy ran towards the girl, "Don't!"

But she pushed the button and they were forced to run for cover as the tunnel exploded. The Doctor and Evy immediately were on their feet, running back to see the tunnel had sealed with Martha stuck on the other side…they refused to believe she was dead.

"You've sealed off the tunnel," the Doctor spun to face the soldier and the woman, "Why did you do that?!"

"They were trying to kill us!" she argued.

"But now they've got our friend!" Evy retorted.

"Collateral damage. At least you've still got her," she nodded at Donna, "He lost both his men, I'd say you came out ahead."

"Her name's Martha and she's not collateral damage, not for anyone!" Donna admonished, "Have you got that, GI Jane?!"

"I'm gonna find her," the Doctor turned to the tunnel.

"Me too," Evy agreed, going with him.

The sound of a gun being cocked made them pause, "You're going nowhere," the first soldier replied, holding his gun at them, "You don't make sense, you two," he eyed the Doctor and Evy, "No guns, no marks, no fight in you…I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move."

He nudged the gun in a direction and they had no option but to walk down it, the woman in the lead and then Donna before them.

"I'm Donna, what's your name?" Donna asked, trying to make conversation and learn more about the woman that was the Doctor and Evy's daughter.

"Don't know, it's not been assigned," she shrugged.

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?"

"How to fight."

"Anything else?" Evy frowned, she didn't like that. She'd fought enough in the Time War, she'd seen enough, and she had vowed she would never allow her children, should she ever have any, to become soldiers like her people had.

"The machine must embed military history and tactics but no name," the Doctor commented, "She's a generated anomaly."

"Generated anomaly?" Donna glanced back at them, before turning around and trying out the sounds, "Jenny-rated. Well what about that? Jenny!"

"Jenny," the woman turned around to smile, "Yeah, I like that, Jenny."

"What do you think, 'dad?'" Donna smirked at him.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he shrugged.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?"

Evy frowned, she knew what the Doctor was doing, trying to distance himself from Jenny. She understood the loss he'd suffered on Gallifrey, losing his son Eta before the boy had even taken his first breath of air. But standing there was a young woman that had come from her as well…and…she'd never gotten to be a mother before.

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it, it's not what I call natural parentage," the Doctor replied.

"Rubbish!" Donna exclaimed, "My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster, don't bother her."

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident."

"Er, Child Support Agency can."

The Doctor paused and turned to look at her, "Look, just 'cos I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?"

"I'm not a monkey!" Jenny turned to face them, "Or a child."

"To a parent," Evy replied, "You're  _always_  their child…even when you've got children of your own."

Donna smiled, warmed to see that at least Evy seemed to be taking a parental role in all this, "So what do you think of Jenny, 'mum?'"

Evy smiled as she turned to Donna, "I think next time the Doctor and I have a child, we get to name it as opposed to Auntie Donna."

"I'm an auntie!" Donna beamed, secretly thrilled that Evy considered her for such a role. She knew not all aunts or uncles were biologically related to the family, she was so touched that Evy thought of her in such terms as to have her be an aunt for her child...even if said child was a fully grown cloned soldier woman.

"Wait…" the Doctor's eyes widened, "Next time?"

Evy just laughed at his stunned and bewildered expression before tugging Donna into the room Jenny had entered. She was still very mad at the Doctor, but she couldn't help but tease him a bit…he deserved it.

The room seemed to be a human encampment of some sort, underground by the lack of light streaming in from the windows.

"So, where are we?" the Doctor shook himself and stepped in with them, "What planet's this?"

"Messaline," the first soldier replied, "Well, what's left of it."

"...663: 75 deceased," they heard someone announcing, "Generation 6671: Extinct. Generation 6672: 46 deceased. Generation 6680: 14 deceased. Generation..."

"But this is a theater!" Donna looked around, seeing the stage and lights and all.

"Maybe they're doing 'Miss Saigon,'" the Doctor shrugged, sitting down.

"It's like a town, or a city, underground. But why?"

"General Cobb, I presume?" Evy asked as an older man approached them with the soldier who had brought them there.

"Found in the Western tunnels, I'm told, with no marks," Cobb looked at them, "There was an outbreak of pacifism in the Eastern Zone, three generations back, before we lost contact, is that where you came from?"

"Eastern Zone, that's us, yeah," the Doctor nodded, getting up, "Yeah. I'm the Doctor, this is Donna, and this is Evy."

"And I'm Jenny," Jenny introduced herself.

"Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking," Cobb warned them, "We're committed to the fight, to the very end."

"Well, that's alright, we can't stay anyway," the Doctor told him, "We've gotta go and find our friend."

"That's not possible, all movement is regulated. We're at war."

"Yeah, we noticed that," Evy replied tensely. The notion of war still didn't sit right with her. Never did, not even on Gallifrey.

"With the Hath," the Doctor guessed, "But tell me, 'cos we got a bit out of circulation, Eastern Zone and all that, so, who exactly are the Hath?"

"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth," Cobb narrated as he began to lead them through the theater, "Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning, a colony where human and Hath could work and live together."

"What happened?" Evy tilted her head to the side.

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival."

"There's nothing but earth outside, why's that?" Donna peeked out one of the windows, or tried to at least, "Why build everything underground?"

"The surface is too dangerous," the soldier answered.

"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" she pointed to a number stamped on the wall.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors," Cobb smiled fondly, looking at the numbers but then a frown came to his face, "The meanings...lost in time."

"How long has this war been fought?" Evy frowned as well.

"Longer than anyone can remember. Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna asked.

"Because we must," this time it was Jenny who spoke, "Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance, it's all we know. How to fight. And how to die."

"What about how to live?" Evy looked at her, saddened by that.

Jenny looked down, feeling her stomach stirring at the disappointment in her mother's eyes despite having known her only minutes.

"And, where exactly are we?" the Doctor asked, trying to get off the topic of war. Cobb motioned for them to follow and led them over to a map on a holographic screen. He brought it up to reveal a series of tunnels, "Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?"

"Yes," Cobb nodded, "Why?"

"It'll help us find Martha," Evy replied.

"We've more important things to do," the young soldier rolled his eyes at them, "The Progenation Machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active," he glanced over at the Doctor, Donna, and Evy, "We could breed a whole platoon from you three."

"I'm not having sons and daughters by some great big flippin' machine!" Donna shouted, before looking at Jenny, "Sorry, no offense but you're not...well, I mean, you're not real."

"You're no better than him!" Jenny turned on Donna, "I have a body, I have a mind, I have independent thought, how am I not real? What makes you better than me?"

Evy could only smile at how much she sounded like the Doctor just then, using her words, her logic, her mind to win arguments.

"Well said, soldier," Cobb said proudly, "We need more like you if ever we're to find the Source."

"Ooh, the Source, what's that then, what's a Source?" the Doctor asked, now sounding interested, "I like a Source, what is it?"

"The Breath of Life."

"Which is..." Evy began.

"In the beginning the great one breathed life into the Universe," the soldier recited, "And then she looked at what she'd done, and she sighed."

"She? I like that," Jenny said at the same time as Evy.

The Doctor looked over at the two of them standing side by side, "She's definitely  _your_  daughter," he muttered.

"What was that?" Evy narrowed her eyes at him.

His eyes widened as he quickly turned back to Cobb, trying to pretend she hadn't just heard him, "Right, so it's a creation myth."

"It's not myth," Cobb glared at him, "It's real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it's here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet."

"I thought so!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, they all looked back at him to see him staring at the map, "There's a suppressed layer of information in this map, if I can just…" he flashed his sonic across it and more tunnels appeared.

"What is it, what's it mean?" Donna looked at the screen, wide eyed.

"An entire network of tunnels, hidden away," Evy nodded, impressed.

"That must be the lost temple," Cobb pointed to a hidden area, "The source will be inside. You've shown us the way! And look, we're closer than the Hath! It's ours!" he spun around and walked back into the center of the encampment, the small group following him, "Tell them to prepare to move out. We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last."

"Um, call me old fashioned, but if you really wanted peace couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor tried.

"Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet!"

"Hold on, you were just talking baout peace, not genocide!" Evy's eyes widened.

"For us, that means the same thing," Cobb waved her off.

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary," the Doctor stepped up, "When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there and the caption will read 'Over my dead body!'"

"And you were the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms!"

The soldier, Cline, pointed his gun at them.

"Oi, oi, oi!" Donna held up her hands, "Alright! Cool the beans Rambo!"

"Take them," Cobb ordered, "I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that your woman dies first," he nodded at Donna.

"No, we're...we're not a couple," the Doctor replied.

"I am not his woman!" Donna shouted, appalled at being called such.

Evy just face palmed, why did  _everyone_  keep thinking it was the Doctor and Donna?

"Come on," Cline nudged them with his gun, "This way."

"We're going to stop you, Cobb, you need to know that," the Doctor warned him.

"I have an army and the breath of god on my side Doctor, what'll you have?" Cobb grinned smugly.

"Evy," he replied, taking her hand, "And we've both got these…" he pointed to his head.

"And believe me general," Evy added, "The two of us together," she squeezed his hand, "It's not something you want to cross."

"Lock them up, and guard them," Cobb ordered.

"What about the new soldier?" Cline asked as Jenny stepped forward.

Cobb pushed her away, the girl stumbling into the Doctor and Evy's arms, "Can't trust her, she's from pacifist stock. Take them all!"

The other soldiers began to pull them from the room, leading them down a hall and over to make shift cells, shoving them in.

"More numbers," Donna commented, seeing a plaque of numbers on the top of the cell, "They've gotta mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the breath of life story," the Doctor nearly snorted.

"You mean that's not true?" Jenny frowned.

"No, it's a myth," Donna agreed, sitting down beside the Doctor on the cot as Evy and Jenny remained standing, "Isn't it?"

Evy nodded, "Yes, but there's always a bit of truth in folklore. For all we know, there could be something in the temple, a piece of technology, a weapon..."

"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?"

"Oh, yes," the Doctor agreed.

"Not good, is it?"

"That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha, stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath…" he looked up to see Jenny staring at him inquisitively, "What…what are you…what are you…what are you staring at?"

"You keep insisting you're not a soldier," Jenny grinned, "But look at you! Drawing up strategies like a proper general."

"No, no, I'm trying to stop the fighting."

"Isn't every soldier?" Evy asked quietly. He looked up at her, seeming to recall that they had both taken part as soldiers in the war, a war they just wanted to  _stop_.

"Well I suppose…" he agreed just as quietly, before growing bolder, "But that's…that's…technically...I haven't got time for this! Donna, give me your phone! Time for an upgrade!"

Donna tossed him her phone and he soniced it.

"And now you've got a weapon!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's not a weapon," Evy told her.

"But he's using it to fight back!" she laughed, "I'm gonna learn so much from you, you are such a soldier!"

Evy shook her head, Jenny was just like the Doctor, wanting to learn and use her knowledge, to help.

"Donna, will you tell her?" the Doctor looked at Donna for help, seeing that Evy was far too amused to help him either.

"Oh, you are speechless, I'm loving this!" Donna laughed, "You keep on, Jenny! Only other person who can get him like that is her!" she nodded at Evy.

"Yup, your daughter alright," the Doctor mumbled, glancing at Evy as she rolled her eyes.

"Doctor?" Martha's voice called over the phone.

"Martha!" the Doctor exclaimed, "You're alive!"

"Doctor! Oh, am I glad to hear your voice! Are you alright? Is Evy? What about Donna?"

"I'm with Donna and Evy. We're fine, what about you?"

"And…and Jenny, she's fine too!" Donna added.

"Yes alright," he muttered before getting back to his conversation with Martha, "And…and Jenny...that's the woman from the machine, the soldier, my daughter, Evy's daughter…except she isn't, she's…she's...anyway! Where are you?"

"I'm in the Hath camp," Martha answered, "I'm ok, but...something's going on. The Hath are all marching off to some place that's appeared on this map thing."

"Oh...that was me," he said guiltily.

"Doctor," Evy began, having been listening into the whole conversation, "If  _both_  armies are heading that way...it'll be a bloodbath."

"What do you want me to do?" Martha asked.

"Just stay where you are, if you're safe there then don't move, d'you hear?" he replied.

"But I can help. Doctor? Doctor!"

He pulled the phone back as a beeping noise sounded followed by static. He slowly put the phone down, handing it back to Donna.

A moment later there was cheering echoing through the hallway.

"They must be getting ready to move out," Evy remarked, glancing out of the cell, "If we could just get past that guard..."

"I can deal with him," Jenny stepped forward.

"No, no, no, no," the Doctor cut in, standing, "You're not going anywhere."

"What?" Jenny frowned.

"You belong here, with them."

"She belongs with  _us_ ," Donna glared at him, "With you and Evy. She's your daughter!"

"She's a soldier!"

' _And so were we,'_  Evy argued in his mind, knowing he didn't like to be reminded of that, not out loud.

"She came out of that machine!" he tried again, turning to Evy.

"Oh yes, I know that bit!" Donna shouted, aggravated, not having noticed the direction of his question, "Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on!"

He reached into his pocket and tossed it to her.

"What're you doing?" Jenny stepped back as Donna turned to her.

"It's alright," Evy reassured her, curious as to what Donna would learn, "Just stand still."

Jenny looked at Evy, who nodded, before doing as she was asked. Donna placed the stethoscope on Jenny's chest, first her left side then the right, before pulling back to look at Evy. Who seemed to sense what had just happened and had tears in her eyes. Donna smiled softly at her, nodding ever so slightly to confirm, before turning to the Doctor.

"Come here," she told him, "Listen. And  _then_  tell me where she belongs."

She handed him the stethoscope and waited till he put them in his ears before placing it back on Jenny's chest. Evy closed her eyes, just listening along with the Doctor as Donna moved from the heartbeat on the left side of Jenny's chest to the one on the right.

He pulled the scope from his ears and stepped back, staring at Jenny.

"Two hearts," he breathed, looking over at Evy, who smiled tearfully.

Jenny truly was their daughter.

"Exactly," Donna nodded.

"What's going on?" Jenny frowned, confused.

"Does that mean she's a..." Donna looked over at Evy, "A Time Lady too?"

"What's a Time Lady?" Jenny shook her head.

"It's what I am," Evy replied, stepping forward to go to the Doctor's side. Angry as she was, she couldn't leave him to this shock alone, "It's where I'm from. Where we're both from, who we are," she laid a hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"And I'm from you," she looked between them.

"You're an echo, that's all," the Doctor insisted, "A Time Lady, a Time Lord, is  _so much more_. A sum of knowledge. A code. A shared history. A shared suffering," he reached out and grabbed Evy's hand on his shoulder, holding onto it as though she were the only anchor he had, the only thing left of his home, which, in a way, she was, "Only it's gone now. All of it. Gone forever."

' _It's never really gone,_ ' Evy whispered soothingly in his mind, ' _We still have each other, we can keep the memories alive._ '

"What happened?" Jenny asked quietly, sensing the pain behind the topic.

"There was a war," Evy answered after a moment, seeing it had taken much for the Doctor to just get through what he had said. But she couldn't help but smile softly at Jenny, at her caution behind her question, how she clearly didn't want to hurt them by asking, so like the Doctor in his compassion.

"Like this one?" Jenny tilted her head to the side.

' _Your daughter,_ ' the Doctor commented in Evy's mind at the action.

"Bigger," Evy told her, ignoring the Doctor, "So much bigger, and so much worse."

"And you fought?" Jenny continued, "And killed?"

"Yes," the Doctor answered, a darkness in his voice.

"We  _both_  did," Evy squeezed his shoulder. She had killed, she had seen others killed, and nothing could ever allow her to forget that.

"Then how are we different?" Jenny argued.

"We're not," Evy replied before sighing, "But that's not necessarily a good thing."

' _And sometimes…_ ' the Doctor's voice whispered to her, she looked down at him, ' _Sometimes, it's brilliant…she is like you, so much._ '

She smiled softly at him when Jenny began to brush her hands together as though ready to get to business, "Right then, you three, over here," she walked forward, pulling the Doctor up and moving him and Evy to the side of the cell wall, Donna going to stand with them, "Now just stay there."

Evy eyed her a moment, seeing the same sparkle in the girl's eyes as in the Doctor's whenever he figured out a way out of a situation.

Jenny walked over to the door where Cline was standing guard, "Hey," she called to him.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you, I'm on duty," he told her.

"I know," she shrugged, "Guarding me," she smiled a bit, "So does that mean I'm dangerous? Or that I need protecting?"

"Protecting from what?" Cline turned to face her.

"Oh, I don't know," she batted her eyelashes, "Men like you?" she leaned forward, pulling him in for a kiss…and proceeded to grab his gun and point it at his stomach, "Keep quiet and open the door."

"I'd like to see you try that!" Donna commented to the Doctor.

"I'd rather  _not_ ," Evy replied.

"Yup…your daughter," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oi!" she smacked him behind the head, "When have I ever done  _that_?"

"Ow!" the Doctor rubbed his head.

"You lot coming?" Jenny asked. They looked up to see that, in that short time, she'd gotten Cline to open the door and then tied him up, taking his gun from him.

They quickly ran out of the cell and made their way downstairs, the Doctor pulling Jenny back when they noticed a guard around the corner.

"That's the way out," he mumbled.

Jenny cocked her gun and went to step forward, "Don't you dare missy!" Evy warned her.

"Let me distract this one," Donna said eagerly, "I have picked up a few womanly wiles over the years."

"Let's...save your wiles for later," the Doctor stopped her, looking more than a bit uncomfortable, "In case of emergency."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a windup mouse, setting it on the ground. It scampered away and the guard stepped past their corner to look at it. Jenny quickly slid forward and chopped the man in the shoulder, knocking him out.

"I was gonna  _distract_  him, not  _clobber_  him!" the Doctor scolded lightly.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Jenny countered.

He spun to face Evy, pointing a finger at her, "She's all you!"

" _When_  have I ever done  _that_!?" Evy repeated, gesturing at the fallen guard.

"You're just...violent!" he rubbed the back of his head at the phantom remains of the pain from her smacking him before.

Evy just rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, kneeling down to the guard's side and searching his pockets, "Cobb had to have assigned a copy of the new map…" she found it and turned to walk down the hall, a highly amused Donna following after her.

The Doctor sighed, rubbing his face before noticing Jenny still standing there, confused at the loud and slightly violent interaction, "Just…don't hurt anyone."

He and Jenny ran down the hall to catch up to Evy and Donna who were looking around at the map. Evy looked up, "This is it," she walked over to the wall, "One of the hidden tunnels should be just here...must be a control panel around," she handed the map to the Doctor and walked over to the side panel and began to sonic the wall. The Doctor put the map in his pocket and went to help her.

"It's another one of those numbers," Donna commented, seeing a plaque above the wall, "They're everywhere."

"The original builders must've left them," the Doctor replied, "Some old cataloguing system."

"You got a pen?" Donna turned to them, "Bit of paper? 'Cos, d'you see, the numbers are counting down," he reached into his pocket and handed her the paper and pen, "This one ends in 1-4, the prison cell said 1-6."

"Always thinking, all of you," Jenny commented, shaking her head at them, "Who are you people?"

"I told you," the Doctor replied, "I'm the Doctor and this is Evy and that's Donna."

"The Doctor?" Jenny frowned, "That's it?"

"That's all he ever says," Donna added.

"So, you don't have a name either? Are you an anomaly too?"

"No," he replied simply.

Evy snorted.

"Oh, come off it!" Donna turned to him, "You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met!"

"Found it!" Evy remarked, managing to get a panel off the wall.

"And Time Lords, what are they for exactly?" Jenny continued.

"'For?'" he laughed, "They're not...they're not 'for' anything."

"So what do you do?"

"We travel, Evy and I, through time and space."

"They save planets, rescue civilizations, defeat terrible creatures," Donna added, smiling down at them, at how humble the Doctor was trying to be for once, "And run...a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved."

The door slid open.

"We are through!" Evy called.

"Squad 5, with me!" they could hear Cobb's voice in the distance.

"Now, what were you saying about running?" the Doctor grinned at them, grabbing Evy's hand and pulling her into a run.

They didn't get very far before they came to an area with red beams crossing through a tunnel, blocking the way.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna frowned. The Doctor pulled out the little toy mouse and tossed it into the lights, it burst into sparks as it touched the first beam and was destroyed,. "No, I didn't think so."

"Arming device," Evy muttered as the Doctor turned to fiddle with the controls beside it.

"There's more of these!" Donna exclaimed, seeing another set of numbers, "Always eight numbers, counting down, the closer we get..."

"Here we go!" the Doctor commented.

"You better be quick!"

"The general!" Jenny shouted, hearing the soldiers approaching.

She turned to run but Evy reached out and grabbed her, "Where are you going?"

"I can hold them up."

"No, we don't need any more dead," the Doctor added from the controls, having stopped completely, now focused on them.

"But it's them or us."

"That doesn't mean you have to  _kill_  them Jenny!" Evy argued.

"I'm trying to save your lives!"

The Doctor strode up and joined Evy in trying to reason with their daughter, "Listen to me, the killing, after a while it infects you. And once it does you're never rid of it."

"We don't have a choice," Jenny swallowed.

"We always have a choice sweetheart," Evy told her quietly, cupping the side of Jenny's face.

"I'm sorry," Jenny's eyes filled with tears at the endearment and the loving action, but still she pulled away and ran off.

"Jenny!" they called after her.

"We have to get the tunnel open," Evy turned back to the Doctor, a bit of a franticness in her voice, "If we get it open in time, she can come back."

He nodded and they both ran over to the controls, trying to ignore the sounds of shots being fired.

"I told you," he muttered quietly, though both Evy and Donna could hear him, "Nothing but a soldier."

"She's trying to help," Donna countered.

"Jenny!" Evy shouted, "Come on!"

"I'm coming!" she called back.

"That's it!" Donna shouted as they managed to get the beams down.

"Jenny!" the Doctor shouted, "Leave it! Let's go!"

He took Evy's hand and the three of them ran through the corridor. They turned around to see Jenny running up.

"Jenny!" Evy shouted.

"Come on!" the Doctor added, "That's it!"

"Hurry up!" Donna called.

But just as she reached the corridor the beams appeared again.

"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor's eyes widened in horror, "The circuit's looped back!"

"Zap it back again!" Donna told them.

"The controls are back there!" Evy shouted.

"They're coming!" Jenny looked back.

"Wait!" the Doctor looked around frantically, trying to find something to help, "Just...there isn't...Jenny, I can't!"

"I'll have to manage on my own," she smirked, "Watch and learn, father!"

She stepped back and then proceeded to do a series of somersaults and flips, making it safely through the beams towards them.

"No way!" Donna's eyes widened in shock, "But that was impossible!"

"Not impossible," Evy smiled, Jenny was so like her father, managing to get herself out of tight spots, "Just a bit unlikely!"

"Doing the impossible…she's definitely your daughter then," the Doctor told Evy, though this time with a smile on his face. He could recall quite a few times she'd accomplished something that should have been impossible, healing Lazlo, saving Astrid, among others...

As soon as Jenny was over to them he and Evy pulled her into a tight hug, proud smiles on their faces.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor praised, "You were  _brilliant_! Brilliant!"

"I didn't kill him," she told them, "General Cobb, I  _could_  have killed him, but I  _didn't_. You were right. I had a choice."

"That's my girl!" Evy pulled her back into a hug as the soldiers appeared on the other end of the tunnel.

Evy pulled away and passed Jenny over to Donna, pushing them ahead while she and the Doctor stayed behind. She glared at Cobb, not too fond of the man who, in her mind, tried to turn her daughter into a killer.

"At arms!" Cobb commanded.

"We warned you, Cobb," Evy told him, "We're not going to let you use the Source as a weapon!"

"One of us is gonna die today and it won't be me," was all Cobb said before the soldiers opened fire.

The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her off. They caught up with Jenny and Donna relatively quickly, stepping past them to lead the way, both of them hunching over the map.

"So, you travel together, but you're not...'together?'" Jenny asked Donna as she glanced at her 'parents.' She felt like  _they_  were together, but the general seemed to think it was Donna and the Doctor…and then there was the chance that the DNA mixing could have just been an accident and that none of them were together.

But…she'd been watching her parents the whole time, they had a connection and an understanding that she didn't see between the Doctor and Donna.

"What?" Donna's eyes widened in horror, "No, no! No way! No, no. We're friends. That's all. I mean, we're not even the same species, there's probably laws against it," Jenny laughed, "And besides, your mum's the one that fancies him."

"So they  _are_  together?" Jenny asked her Auntie Donna.

Donna frowned, "It's sort of complicated…they're together, but they're not  _together_  but they're 'together,'" Jenny looked confused so Donna just waved her off, "Even I don't get it sometimes."

Jenny shrugged, she'd learn about it eventually, "And what's it like, the travelling?"

"Ah, never a dull moment," the smile was back, "Can be terrifying, brilliant, and funny, sometimes all at the same time. I've seen some amazing things though. Whole new worlds."

"Oh, I'd love to see new worlds."

"You will. Won't she, Doctor? Evy?"

"Hmm?" the Doctor looked up.

"D'you think Jenny will see any new worlds?"

"I suppose so," he replied with a little smile. Evy had waited, giving him the power to decide, he was the one having the harder time with it all.

"You mean..." Jenny gasped, "You mean you'll take me with you?"

"Well we're not about to leave you here, are we?" Evy smiled widely.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jenny jumped forward, hugging the Doctor fiercely, he held her tightly for a moment, a part of his mind thinking on how similar Jenny's hug was to Evy's, leaping onto someone and squeezing them for dear life. He chuckled to himself as he let her go so she could turn and hug Evy as well, "Come on! Let's get a move on!" she ran ahead.

"Careful, watch out for traps!" Evy called after her, she was definitely the Doctor's daughter, rushing off into danger.

"Kids!" Donna laughed, "They never listen!" she looked up and noticed the Doctor watching where Jenny had disappeared, looking troubled, "Oh, I know that look. See it a lot round our way. Blokes with pushchairs and frowns. You've got dad-shock."

"Dad-shock?" he turned to Donna.

"Sudden, unexpected fatherhood. Take a bit of getting used to."

"It's not that Donna," Evy told her, seeing the Doctor unwilling to really talk about it.

"Well, what is it then?" she asked. Evy seemed to have a good grip of the whole becoming a mum thing, which she expected from a woman, but the Doctor, he looked reluctant, "Having Jenny in the TARDIS is that it? What's she gonna do, cramp your style? Like you've got a sports car and she's gonna turn it into a people-carrier?"

"Donna," he sighed, "I've been a father before."

"What?" her eyes widened as she looked between her two friends, just strolling along, holding hands, "The two of you have…"

"It…it wasn't with me," Evy replied quietly, making Donna frown.

The Doctor squeezed her hand. He knew how much it hurt her to think back on his past on Gallifrey, to think of Riku and his little Eta, all the time that had been lost because of his cowardice and flight, "I lost all that a long time ago," he took a breath, "Along with everything else."

This time Evy squeezed his hand. She knew how hard it was to think of them, of the day he lost them, the time he lost Susan to a life on Earth. His 'granddaughter' in a sense, a young alien who had stumbled upon his TARDIS and who he'd taken under his wing. They'd had quite a few adventures as the girl grew older, even going so far as to call the Doctor her grandfather, even if it was just an affectionate title.

"I'm sorry," Donna breathed, "I didn't know," she looked between them, "Why didn't you tell me? You  _talk_  all the time, but you don't  _say_  anything."

"I know," he began, "I'm just...when I look at her now I can see them. The hole they left, all the pain that filled it. I just don't know if I can face that every day."

Evy looked away, tears in her eyes. She could feel his pain even now. It had lessened quite a bit from what she'd felt from him on Gallifrey, but to be reminded of it every day…to see the faces of Riku and Eta in Jenny…it would be hard for him.

"It won't stay like that," Donna assured him, "She'll help you. Evy will help you, we both will."

"But when they died, that part of me died with them," he admitted, knowing how hard it would be for Evy to hear it, but needing to say it nonetheless, "I'm not sure if it'll ever come back."

"I tell you something, Doctor, something I've never told you before," Donna turned to face him, serious, "I think you're wrong."

The sound of shots firing reached them and they all looked up, concerned, till they saw Jenny running back to them, "They've blasted through the beams, time to run again. Love the running! Yeah?"

"Love the running," the Doctor smiled softly before squeezing Evy's hand, and they were off once more.

And, yet again, they reached a dead end.

"We're trapped," Donna said.

"Can't be," the Doctor shook his head, "This must be the temple."

Evy stepped forward and touched a panel of the wall, examining it with her sonic, "This is a door."

"And again!" Donna saw more numbers, "We're down to 1-2 now..."

"I've got it!" the Doctor called, getting the panel off the wall and letting Evy get to it.

"I can hear them!" Jenny shouted.

"Almost there..." Evy remarked.

"These can't be a cataloguing system," Donna frowned.

"They're getting closer!" Jenny called.

"Then get back here!" the Doctor told her.

"They're too similar," Donna continued, "Too familiar."

"Not yet," Jenny muttered.

"Now!" Evy shouted, getting the door open, "Yes!"

They ran into the temple quickly.

"They're coming!" Jenny ran through last, "Close the door!" the Doctor pushed some keys on the wall and the door slid shut again, "Oh, that was close!"

"No fun otherwise!" the Doctor grinned.

"It's not what I'd call a temple…" Donna commented, looking around.

"It looks more like..." Jenny began.

"Fusion-drive transport," Evy finished.

"It's a spaceship!" the Doctor shouted.

"What, the original one?" Donna asked, "The one the first colonists arrived in?"

"Well, it  _could_  be, but the power cells would have run out by now," Evy frowned, looking around, her head tilted to the side, "This one's still powered-up and functioning."

"Come on!" the Doctor called and they ran farther into it.

They passed a wall where someone was trying to cut a path in.

"It's the Hath!" Jenny stopped to look at it, "That's not gonna last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's gonna break out."

"Look, look, look, look, look!" the Doctor called them over to a computer, "Ship's log!"

"'First wave of Human/Hath co-colonization of planet Messaline,'" Evy read.

"So it  _is_  the original ship," Jenny said.

"What happened?" Donna frowned.

"'Phase one. Construction,'" Evy continued to read, "Robot drones built the city."

"But, does it mention the war?"

"Final entry..." she scrolled down, "'Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions.'"

"That must be it!" the Doctor exclaimed, "A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines and suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war!"

"Two armies who are now both outside," Jenny reminded them.

"Look at that!" Donna pointed to the screen, displaying a number like those on the wall.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels," the Doctor agreed.

"No, no, no, no, but listen..." Donna turned to them, excited, "I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat," Evy whistled, impressed, "I'm good with numbers! It's staring us in the face!"

"What is?" Jenny frowned.

"It's the date! Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America!"

"The New Byzantine Calendar," Evy nodded.

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on! So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out, from here, day by day, as the city got built."

"Yes!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Oh, good work, Donna!"

"Yeah!" Donna grew even more excited, "But you're...you're still not getting it. The first number I saw back there was 6012-07-17. Well, look at the date today!"

"07-24," Evy's eyes widened.

"No!" the Doctor breathed.

"What does it mean?" Jenny asked.

"Seven days."

"That's it!" Donna nodded, "Seven days!"

"Just seven days?!"

"What d'you mean, seven days?" Jenny asked, growing frustrated.

"Seven days since war broke out," Evy told her.

"This war started seven days ago!" Donna added, "Just a week! A week!"

"They said years!" Jenny's eyes widened.

"No," Donna shook her head, "They said  _generations_. And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines…"

"They could have 20 generations in a day!" the Doctor realized, "Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend!"

"Donna, you're a  _genius_!" Evy hugged the woman.

"But all the buildings, the encampments, they're in ruins," Jenny argued.

"No they're not ruined, they're just empty!" the Doctor replied, "Waiting to be populated! Oh, they've mythologized their entire history! The Source must be part of that too. Come on!"

He grabbed Evy's hand and they were running again, around a corner, and straight into Martha…Martha!

"Doctor!" Martha shouted, "Evy!"

"Martha!" Evy pulled her into a hug as the Doctor joined in.

"I should've known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement!" the Doctor grinned.

"Donna!" Martha exclaimed, running to hug the ginger as well.

"Ooh, you're filthy, what happened?!" Donna frowned.

"I, er, took the surface route."

"Oh, Martha," Evy called her over, "This is Jenny, my daughter, uh, the Doctor's daughter. Jenny, meet your Aunt Martha."

Jenny just hugged the stunned woman.

"I'm an aunt?" Martha's eyes widened.

"Surprised?" Evy laughed.

"A bit yeah," she nodded, "Usually get 9 months to prepare you know."

There was a commotion behind them, the room filling with the voices of soldiers, "That's the general!" the Doctor shouted, "We haven't got much time."

"We don't even know what we're looking for!" Donna argued.

"Is it me, or can you smell flowers?" Martha asked randomly.

"Yes!" the Doctor shouted.

"Bougainvillea!" Evy confirmed, breathing deep.

"I say we follow our nose!"

"Blocks 7 to 10, advance!" Cobb shouted from behind them, "With me!"

They turned and walked into what looked like a large greenhouse, giant plants inside of all sorts, palms and ferns and flowers and other exotic vegetation.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor looked around, excited, "Yes! Isn't this brilliant?"

They walked over to a pedestal in the center of the room with a glass sphere on top of it with a shining, sparkling, colorful gas inside.

"Is that the Source?" Donna asked.

"It's beautiful," Jenny gasped.

"What is it?" Martha frowned.

"Terra-forming," Evy answered, leaning forward to examine it, "It's a third generation terra-forming device."

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna asked.

"Because that's what it does," Evy straightened, "All this, but on a planet-wide scale."

"It's in a transit state," the Doctor explained, "Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally..."

The Hath and the soldiers stormed in from opposite sides of the garden, each cocking their guns as soon as they caught sight of each other.

"Stop!" the Doctor shouted, holding up his hands at them, "Hold your fire!"

"What is this?" Cobb demanded, "Some kind of trap?"

"You said you wanted this war over."

"I want this war  _won_."

"You  _can't_  win," Evy stepped up, "Neither of you. You don't even know why you're here!"

"Your whole history," the Doctor began, "It's just Chinese whispers. Getting more distorted the more it's passed on."

Evy pointed at the sphere, "This is your Source, what you're fighting over. It's just a device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. Nothing mystical about it. It's from a laboratory, not some...creator."

"It's a bubble of gases," the Doctor told them, "A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids."

Evy nodded, "It's used to make barren planets like yours habitable."

"Look around you!" the Doctor motioned to the garden, "It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight! No more fighting. No more killing," Evy handed him the sphere and he lifted it above his head, "I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over!"

He threw it to the ground, shattering it and allowing the gasses to escape. They shined in gold and green as they spread out and into the air. The humans and the Hath, looking on in wonder, began to lower their guns.

"What's happening?" Jenny asked.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terra-forming process," the Doctor said, watching the gas.

"What does that mean?" Jenny looked at her mother, knowing she would explain it better.

"It means a new world," she smiled at Jenny. They all looked up, laughing with delight as they watched the wonders of the gas.

"No!" Jenny suddenly shouted as a shot rang out. They looked over to see Jenny step in front of the Doctor as Cobb fired at him, hitting Jenny in the chest. She fell backwards into the Doctor's arms.

"Jenny!" Evy shouted, reaching out to catch her daughter.

The soldiers tackled Cobb and pulled away his gun.

"Jenny?" the Doctor asked as he fell to the ground with Evy, their daughter cradled in their arms, "Jenny! Talk to me, Jenny!"

Martha knelt down and began to check her.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Donna asked, kneeling down as well.

Martha looked at Donna and could only shake her head.

"A new world," Jenny whispered, looking up at the gas still at work, "It's beautiful..."

"Jenny?" Evy spoke, her voice thick with emotion, breaking, as tears fell from her eyes, "Be strong. You need to hold on sweetheart."

"We've got things to do," the Doctor added, "You, Evy, and me. Hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose.

"That sounds good," Jenny smiled, taking her eyes off the gas to look at her parents' tormented faces.

"You're my daughter and we've only just got started," he whispered.

"You're gonna be great," Evy took her hand, squeezing it.

The Doctor shook his head, "You'll be _more_  than great. You'll be amazing, eh? Just like your mum," he tried to smile, "Jenny?"

Jenny gave them one last smile, squeezing Evy's hand before her eyes fluttered closed and she let out her last breath, her head lulling on the Doctor's arm. Evy let out a sob as the Doctor kissed his daughter's forehead in despair.

But then something dawned on him, "Two hearts. Two hearts, she's like us," he looked at Evy with hope, "If we wait...if we just wait..."

He looked over at Martha for support, but the young doctor frowned, "There's no sign, Doctor. There is no regeneration. She's like you, but...maybe not enough."

"No," he whispered brokenly, "Too much. That's the truth of it. She was  _too much_  like me."

He made sure she was safe in Evy's arms before he pushed himself up and walked towards Cobb, grabbing the man's gun on the way. He stood there, panting from anger and pain before pointing the gun at Cobb's head. Martha and Donna looked shocked at what he was doing, but Evy looked on, a small smile on her face as she  _knew_  he had no intention to fire. Even at his angriest, he couldn't kill anyone.

Just as she thought, he lowered the gun and crouched down to face the man who killed his daughter, "I never would. Have you got that? I  _never_  would!" he stood up and looked around at the two parties, "When you start this new world. This world of Human and Hath...remember that! Make the foundation of this society. A man who never would!"

He threw the gun away and walked back over to Jenny's body, taking it from Evy to cradle it to him. Evy wiped her eyes and crawled around Jenny to sit next to the Doctor, wrapping her arm around him, leaning her forehead against his shoulder.

"She was willing to step in the way of a bullet for someone," she whispered, "She's your daughter too."

The Doctor could just nod before tears collected in his eyes as well. Evy pushed herself onto her knees and enveloped him in a hug as he turned to press his face into her neck, sobbing for the loss of another child.

~8~

The soldiers had collected Jenny's body and brought it back to the theater where a table had been set up for her to be placed. The Doctor and Evy stood at the foot of the table, back against a wall, his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist as they stared down at their daughter. Martha and Donna stood on one side of the table while Cline and a Hath stood on the other.

A light began to shine through the window, landing on Jenny's face.

"It's happening," Martha commented, "The terra-forming."

"Build a city, nice and safe underground," Donna murmured, "Strip away the top soil. And there it is," she paused and looked down, "And what about Jenny?"

"Let us give her a proper ceremony?" Cline asked, looking over at the Doctor and Evy, "I think it'd help us. Please."

The Doctor, looking too lost in his dark thoughts, didn't respond. But Evy gave a slight nod. She turned to the Doctor, nudging him as he shook himself free of his ghosts and looked down at her. He took a breath before walking forward, placing a gentle kiss on Jenny's forehead before stepping back. Evy smile down at her daughter, taking her hand in her own one last time before turning and walking out with the Doctor and their friends.

~8~

They were back in the TARDIS, the Doctor leaning against the captain's chair and staring at the console as Evy slowly walked around it and put in coordinates.

"Jenny was the reason for the TARDIS bringing us here," the Doctor commented in thought, "It just got here too soon, which then created Jenny in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox."

Donna and Martha watched him with sympathy, glancing back at Evy who had yet to say anything at all.

"Time to go home?" the Doctor asked Martha.

"Yeah," she tried to smile, "Home."

He stepped up, standing before Evy at the console and taking her hand, giving it a squeeze before flipping a lever, not able to must his usual enthusiasm to pilot the TARDIS.

It was a smoother ride than normal, Martha and Donna chalked it up to Evy having been the one to set everything. They landed just outside the road to Martha's house in no time at all.

Martha gave the TARDIS one last look before stepping outside with Donna, Evy and the Doctor following behind.

"You sure about this?" Donna asked as they walked down the street.

"Yeah, positive," Martha nodded, "I can't do this anymore. You'll be the same one day."

"Not me," Donna shook her head, "Never! How could I  _ever_  go back to normal life after seeing all this?" she looked back at the Doctor and Evy, walking silently, hand-in-hand, "I'm gonna travel with then forever," she reached out and hugged Martha.

"Good luck," Martha whispered to her.

"And you," Donna replied.

"We're making a habit of this," the Doctor said as he and Evy stepped forward.

"Yeah," Martha nodded absently, "And you'd think it'd get easier," she looked at the Doctor, "All those things you've been ready to die for. I thought for a moment there you'd finally found something else worth living for," she glanced at Evy a moment.

"Oh...there's always something worth living for, Martha," the Doctor agreed, squeezing Evy's hand, earning just the hint of a smile from her. He reached out and hugged Martha.

"Bye, Doctor," she replied.

"Goodbye," he pulled back, "Dr. Jones."

"Evy," Martha sighed, pulling the woman into a tight hug, "You give me a call whenever you need to talk, you hear me?" she pulled back, "Any time, even if you're in the middle of the French Revolution or something, yeah?"

"Yeah," Evy whispered, hugging her friend one more time before turning and taking the Doctor's hand once more, heading back to the TARDIS with Donna.

~8~

Evy was lying on her bed, just staring at the wall behind it, her back to her door, when she felt he bed dip on one side and a pair of arms circle her waist. She twisted around to stare into the Doctor's sorrowful eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"What for?" she asked.

"I kept denying Jenny, because…I didn't want to suffer through what happened with Eta," he admitted, staring into her eyes, "I didn't want to ever experience losing a child again, but…by pushing her away from me, I pushed her to you…and because of that, you had to experience it too. I never meant for that to happen."

Evy smiled softly, reaching out to stroke his cheek, "Losing her…it will be hard, but…we have each other to help us through. That was something you didn't have on Gallifrey, you were alone and you ran away, you didn't let anyone help you. But I'm here and I'm not leaving, I'm not going to let you have to suffer through this alone."

"Nor I you," he nodded. He wouldn't run this time, he would face it, and he would deal with it. All that running had done was cause problems and make the pain last longer.

"I have something for you," she reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like a computer chip with a button on it attached to a chain.

"What is it?" he asked as she slipped it around his neck.

"It's an Emergency Spatial Shifter," she sighed, running her fingers along the chip, "If you're ever trapped and you can't get out, and, for some reason, I am  _conscious_  and unable to keep my promise," she smiled softly, showing him she wasn't angry anymore, "You just push this button, and you'll be teleported back to the TARDIS in a time relative to you."

He looked down at the chip, fiddling with it before looking up at her, "Thank you," he breathed, reaching out to brush a piece of hair behind her ear.

She nodded, pulling out a similar chip, "I have one too, in case I  _can_  keep my promise. They can both be activated from the TARDIS as well," she slipped hers back into her pocket.

They were silent, just lying there in each other's arms, sharing their pain and their strength, until they were finally able to drift off to sleep.

~8~

Jenny had given Cline and the Hath quite a shock when she had woken up from her near death and run out of the room to steal a shuttle.

"Jenny?" Cline's voice came over the comm., "What're you doing? Come back!"

She just pushed a control to start the engines, "Sorry. Can't stop. What you gonna do, tell my parents?"

"But...where are you going?!"

"Oh, I've got the whole Universe!" she grinned, "Planets to save, civilizations to rescue, creatures to defeat...and an awful lot of running to do!"

She went to push another button when she realized her other hand was clutching something. She opened her hand to see a small piece of scrap paper. She tilted her head to the side before opening it.

_Jenny,_

_I am praying to every Gallifreyan deity I can think of that you are as resilient as your father and as impossible as I am. If you are, there's no way a little bullet would stop you. You may want to take a trip to Talmix in the galaxy of Minn. They could do with a girl like you._

_All my love,_

_Mum_

Jenny grinned widely, sticking the paper into her pocket, "And I think I'll start with Talmix!" she shouted into the comm. before taking off into the stars.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How cute was that last scene between the Doctor and Evy. What did I say, they are definitely getting closer and their relationship will pick up because of it. The loss of Jenny will really push them together, she was THEIR daughter, so really, only they could understand what the other is feeling. It really gets going when River makes an appearance though :)
> 
> I was debating making Jenny different, since she would be both the Doctor AND Evy's daughter here. But...I really loved GM's portrayal and wanted to keep that. I tried to make it so that she was both their daughter, little habits and traits from Evy appearing along with those from the Doctor.
> 
> Next chapter...Robin Hood? What? And Donna learns quite a bit about Evy's dreaded time in the Mason Institute...


End file.
